


My Person

by ghostdawg09



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-09
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:55:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 28,838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22188211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghostdawg09/pseuds/ghostdawg09
Summary: When Emily Sonnett receives the call saying she is being traded she is devastated. Sometimes though these things can cause others to see things more clearly. How will the news of her trade affect everyone around her? Follow along as Emily starts her new adventure in Orlando.
Relationships: Ashlyn Harris/Ali Krieger, Lindsey Horan/Emily Sonnett, Tobin Heath/Christen Press
Comments: 16
Kudos: 196





	1. The Call

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! I'm still not sure how to feel about Sonnett going to Orlando. Part of me is excited because I can actually go to games in Orlando and I think Ali will be able to help her grow even more and become a better player but I'm sad that she has to leave Lindsey behind. Anyways, I hope you like the new story! I will try to update as much as I can but now that school is back in session there are no promises! Thank you guys for reading!

Lindsey couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She had received a Twitter notification and opened it to see total chaos. Fans were tagging her and Emily in loads of posts talking about Sonny leaving but what were they talking about??? She was so confused so she kept scrolling through her feed and that’s when she saw the announcement. The headline read: Emily Sonnett and Caitlin Foord traded to the Orlando Pride in exchange for the #1 draft pick. Lindsey was still frozen in one spot when she heard a knock on her hotel room door. She slowly got up and walked to the door to open it. She opened it to find the source of her mess of emotions standing there. Emily looked at her with a sad and pained look on her face with red-rimmed eyes. As Lindsey took in her appearance she silently stepped back and held the door to her room open for Sonny to walk through.

Sonny started pacing the length of the room and was mumbling to herself. Lindsey sat on the edge of her bed and watched Emily closely and waited for her to say something. When it became obvious that her friend was not going to be the one to start the conversation she simply asked, “Did you know?” Sonnett stopped dead in her tracks and looked at Lindsey with fear and trepidation in her eyes and whispered, “Yes.” As Lindsey looked at her with anger in her eyes Emily started talking really fast. “ Ok I know you’re mad and I get it but I didn’t want you to find out about it like this. I just found out a few days ago and I just didn’t know how to tell you. I knew you would be upset and sad and that’s the last thing I ever want to cause you to feel. I just didn’t know how to tell you but I didn’t plan on you finding out like this. I swear! I was going to talk to you tonight no matter what so you would know.” As Lindsey sat there watching her best friend, her Sonny try to justify her actions she could tell that she did feel really bad about how it all went down. “Sit down Sonnett.” Em looked in her direction and saw Linds patting the spot on the bed beside her. Sonnett sat down beside her best friend and tried to gather her thoughts. She thought back to receiving the call from Mark and her talk afterwards with Kelley.

_*Flashback*_

_Emily was lying in her bed Saturday evening resting before camp started the next day. She started thinking about all the changes that this camp would bring. New coaching staff, no Alex, new faces being called up for their shot at making the roster, a married couple at camp. Emily couldn’t wait to see Ali and Ashlyn to congratulate them in person on their Royal Wedding. It was definitely something else and Emily had been blown away by some of the details they had found out so far. As Emily sat consumed in her thoughts her phone started ringing. She looked down at the display to see Mark’s name on her screen. That’s weird she thought, Why is he calling me? She answered the phone and listened to him start to explain the decision they had made and how it affected her. “Emily you are going to be traded to the Orlando Pride.” Emily sat there in shock and couldn’t find any words to say. After she finally got off the phone she sat on the edge of her bed and stared blankly at the wall. She could see a movie of her life in Portland playing out in her mind. All of the coffee shops and best places for avocado toast, her friends, Tobin and Sinc and Hayley and Ellie and Lindsey. Lindsey was going to be devastated she thought. Caitlin was actually going to the Pride with Sonny so at least she would have someone. She thought about Lindsey again and their friendship and everything they had been through. They had been through wins and losses, championships, world cups, injuries, smiles and laughter and tears. Emily thought about the many times she would lend Lindsey her shoulder to cry on after Richard had done some other dumb ass thing and caused Lindsey pain. She hated seeing Lindsey in pain but she knew that this news would definitely cause her pain. “Or not,” she thought bitterly. Richard and Lindsey had gotten back together… AGAIN! How many times would her friend keep going back to that dirt bag? She didn’t understand what Linds saw in him. Maybe it was the fact that Sonnett didn’t like guys that she didn’t understand. Maybe it was all the times he had made her friend cry and doubt herself. Or maybe it was the fact that Emily was in love with Lindsey. Of course, Lindsey didn’t know how Emily felt. Every time she thought she had worked up the courage to tell her how she felt, Lindsey would go right back to Richard. As Emily sat there thinking about everything that was happening she heard a knock on her door. She walked zombie like to the door and looked to the peephole and saw Kelley standing there. She opened her door and let her friend inside the room. As Kelley entered the room she turned to look at Sonny and saw her face, “What’s wrong?” She asked immediately. “It’s a long story,” Emily replied. “I’ve got time,” Kelley replied as they sat on Emily’s bed. “I’m in love with Lindsey.” After a few moments of silence Kelley scoffs and says, “Yeah Son I know. Everybody knows but you and Lindsey. We all see the way you look at her and how she looks at you. Why are you telling me this now?” Emily looks at her friend in shock and stutters out, “You know?! Everyone knows??” Emily jumps up and starts pacing the room. “Calm down Em,” Kelley says gently as she approaches her and puts her hands on her shoulders, “Everything will be ok. Nobody is judging you and no one is going to tell Lindsey anything either unless you want them to even though I’m positive she feels the same way about you.” Sonny scoffs at Kelley’s last words and mumbles, “No she doesn’t.” “Why would you think that Son?” “Because she is with that jackass Richard again! They saw each other after the season was over and started talking again. Then next thing I know she tells me that he says he is serious this time and they are going to try again,” Emily rambled on, “He is never actually serious. All he does is use her and treat her like shit and then I pick up the pieces and she goes running right back to him! They even went to fucking Hawaii together Kell! It hurts so much to watch her with him and know that he doesn’t deserve her but he gets her and I don’t. It just really freaking hurts!” At this point Emily is standing in the middle of the room with tears rolling down her face so Kelley walks over and grabs her in a big bear hug and whispers, “Shhh Em, I’ve got you. Just let it all go.” They stood in each other’s arms for a few minutes and then broke apart and sat back down on the bed. “You know Emily,” Kelley started, “ It really sucks that this keeps happening and you get the short end of the stick. Maybe it would hurt less if you didn’t have to see it all the time. Maybe you could distance yourself from Lindsey.” Em looked at her and started to complain but Kelley cut her off. “I’m not saying to cut her off or anything or not be friends with her but some distance might be good for you so that you don’t continually get hurt.” Emily sat there contemplating what her friend had said. “So what would you say if I got traded to another team?” Em asked softly. Kelley whipped her head around to look at her friend, “Why would you ask that Em? It’s not the worst idea for you to get some space from Lindsey but it seems a little dramatic.” “Well it’s not like I had a choice, “ Emily quips back. Kelley’s eyes widened in surprise, “What?! You got traded? To where?” “Calm down Kelley. I just found out right before you got here,” Emily said softly, “Mark called to tell me that they traded Caitlin and I to Orlando. It’s not the worst option. I will have Alex, Ali, and Ash and some other good players but how am I supposed to leave Portland?? How am I supposed to leave the only place I have ever played at professionally? How am I supposed to leave Sinc and Hayley and Tobin? How am I supposed to leave Lindsey?” Emily finished rambling near tears just thinking about having to leave everything behind. “Aww Em, “ Kelley said sympathetically as she wrapped Sonnett in a hug. Kelley just let Sonny cry for a few minutes before she spoke again. “I know it’s really hard to leave everything you have known for the past four years but you are one of the strongest people I know. You can do this.” Kelley continued, “The hardest part will be leaving Lindsey but you are already hurting by being there with her. Lindsey won’t stop being friends with you just because you aren’t on the same team anymore. You will still see her and Tobin at camps and stuff. Maybe the distance will cause Lindsey to see what she is missing out on but being with Richard instead of you.” Emily looked at her thoughtfully, “Maybe. You make some good points Kelley but it’s still hard. I just don’t know how to tell Lindsey that I’m having to leave.” “I know. It’s going to be hard no matter what but you should tell her in person so she doesn’t find out any other way.” “I know,” Emily said softly, “I just need to figure out how to do that.”_

_*End Flashback*_

“So Mark called me Saturday to tell me that they traded me and Caitlin to Orlando and that they appreciated the last 4 years but they had to make some roster moves to get better.” Emily started telling Lindsey the whole story minus parts of her conversation with Kelley of course. As she listened to Sonny spill everything that had happened over the past few days Lindsey could only imagine how hard it has been for her friend. As Emily wrapped up the story by pleading with Lindsey to understand that she was going to tell her about it that evening Lindsey wrapped Sonnett in a big hug and buried her face in the crook of Sonny’s neck and cried hot tears as she said, “I believe you Sonny. I know you were hurting too and wanted to find the right way to tell me. I’m just really sad.” “Me too Linds, Me too,” Emily said as she wrapped her arms around Lindsey’s midsection and held her while her friend cried and cried a few tears of her own.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Talks with the veterans and movie night with Soran.

After her hard conversation with Lindsey, Sonnett found herself walking down the hallway to Ali and Ashlyn’s room. She knocked on their door and was surprised when it swung open almost immediately. She was engulfed in a hug by Ashlyn and swung around into the room. She heard Ali’s laugh ringing in the background. “Put her down Ash and let her breathe! She won’t do us any good if you kill her now.” Ashlyn put Emily down and laughed, “I’m just so happy that we will finally have some help on the defensive side of the ball!” “Well thanks Ash,” Emily said sincerely but not very excitedly. “What’s wrong Emily?” Ali asked as she got off the bed and approached Sonny, “I know trades can be really hard, especially if you didn’t know it was coming, but you seem like something else is bothering you.” Emily looked at her in shock and finally said, “Well geez Ali, I guess I won’t ever be able to hide anything from you.”

Emily sighed as she sat down and looked at the newly married couple in front of her, “Congratulations by the way you guys. The wedding looked like a lot of fun and you guys were gorgeous!” “Well thanks Em, but don’t change the subject. What’s going on?” Em took a deep breath and started to tell the girls her story. “So I got the call Saturday night and I was blindsided by the fact that they wanted to trade me. No offense to you guys but I really didn’t think that Portland would trade me. So the thought of leaving the place that I have called home for the past four years was devastating to me. It’s all I have ever known since I started playing professionally. I’m really going to miss all of my friends and our adventures. I’m going to miss Hayley and Kling and Sinc. I’m going to miss Tobin too but at least I will get to see her with the national team stuff.” “I bet you’re really going to miss Lindsey huh?” Ali questioned with a small smirk. “Wha-What are you talking about?” Emily stammered, “Of course I will miss Lindsey because we are best friends!” Ashlyn laughed out loud, “I remember when Ali and I were just best friends!” Sonnett’s head whipped around to look at Ashlyn with her mouth agape. “Ash! Be nice to Sonny,” Ali admonished her wife but with a smile on her face. “I’m just saying Al that everyone can see that they are meant to be together,” Ashlyn answered her wife. “You sound like Kelley,” Emily grumbled to the blonde sitting in front of her. The newlyweds just laughed and Ali spoke up, “I should have known that you would have talked to Kelley about this. So what is the deal with you and Horan?” Ali asked kindly. “Well I guess I might as well tell you two since we are going to be together a lot now. I’m in love with Lindsey but she apparently doesn’t feel the same way because she is back with that jerk named Richard again. It hurts to be around her but I also can’t leave her alone because I know that sooner or later he is going to break her heart all over again and she is going to need someone to lean on.” “Ugh! Men are the worst!” Ashlyn pretended to gag. Ali slapped her wife on the arm lightly as she spoke up, “I’m so sorry Emily. I know that it is probably one of the hardest things you have ever at to do. Leaving your home is always hard but I’m sure it’s even harder when it involves feelings like that.” “Thanks Ali,” Sonnett said, “Kell says that the distance might be a good thing. She thinks that it might make Lindsey realize what she is missing out on by being with Richard.” Ashlyn nodded her head as Sonny spoke, “I could definitely see that happening Son. I really do think that she has feelings for you but she may not know it yet.” Ali nodded her head in agreement to what her wife was saying to their younger teammate. “Well listen Emily, Ash and I will always be close by and available to talk if you need to vent or anything. I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am to have you joining me on the back line in Orlando. I really hope we do better this year!” The three girls sat together talking more about the changes being made and how they thought the upcoming season might play out.

As they were discussing the team Emily’s phone started ringing. She looked down to see that Alex was FaceTiming her. Sonnett accepted the FaceTime call and was met by a squeal of “Sonny!!” Emily held her phone away from her face as she heard the squeals and Ali and Ashlyn just laughed. Alex heard her teammate’s laughter and asked, “Are you hanging out with my Pride girlies??” “Yeah. Ash and Ali were talking to me about how I was feeling with the trade and how it will effect the team,” Sonnett answered. “So, how are you feeling Sonn?” Alex questioned the young defender. “I don’t know honestly. It has been a whirlwind of emotions. I’m excited to be playing with you guys but I’m really going to miss Portland,” Emily answered honestly. “I know what you mean,” replied the brunette, “I know from my time just how special Portland is to the sport of soccer and those who are lucky enough to play there. You will always miss it a little bit but it gets better. Orlando is awesome as well. It may not be as big of a deal as it is in Portland but it’s getting better and we are growing the sport and the league.” Emily nodded along as Alex talked about Portland and knew that Alex probably had a better idea of how she felt than anyone else. Alex continued, “How are you doing with leaving Lindsey?” “Well I’m going to miss her and all of my other friends too,” replied Em. “Yeah Sonnett, I know you will miss your friends but I’m not asking about your friends. I asking about Lindsey,” said Alex exasperatedly. “Lindsey is my friend,” defended Emily half-heartedly, “We are just friends. Why does everyone think that we aren’t?” All three older players just looked at her with a raised eyebrows and a look of disbelief on their faces. There were varying responses of “We’re not stupid”, “We’re not blind”, and “I had to go through 10 years of those two being “friends” so I know the difference in normal friends and in love friends.” “Hey!” both of the newlyweds shouted indignantly. “Whatever guys, it’s the truth,” Alex answered, “So back to my question Sonnett, How are you doing with leaving Lindsey?” “Ugh! I swear everybody seems to know exactly how I feel about Lindsey and I didn’t even know until a month or so ago,” Emily replied. “I don’t know Alex. I know I’m going to miss her so fucking much when I have to leave but at the same time its hurts like hell to be there with her and watch her with that jerk and know that I’m stuck in the friend zone. So it’s complicated to say the least. I hope that this move will be good for both of us eventually. Hopefully, she will either miss me so much and realize what she is missing out on or I will be able to move on and find someone else.” All three veteran soccer players looked at her with varying degrees of sympathy, pity, and disbelief in their gazes. Just then Sonny’s phone beeped with an incoming text message. She looked to see that it was from Lindsey.

**The Great Horan: Movie night tonight? Just us?**

As Emily finished reading the message she heard Ali ask, “What does Lindsey want?” The blonde defender turned her head to look at Ali with a shocked look on her face. “How did you know it was Lindsey?” Ashlyn just snorted and before Ali could answer Alex spoke up, “Whenever Lindsey talks to you your face gets a certain look.” The other two nodded in agreement and Sonny just groaned. “She wants for us to have a movie night tonight with just us two.” “Ooohhhhh,” all three girls responded. “It’s not like that guys. She doesn’t think of me that way. Anyway, Richard will probably text or call and try to monopolize her time, especially if he knows it’s just us two.” “Sounds to me like he is jealous and knows that you’re a threat,” Ashlyn said to her friend. Ali and Alex hummed in agreement. “Well kid, I say to go and see what happens. Enjoy the time you can get together now,” Alex said, “I hope it all turns out okay and I’m so excited and will see you soon but I have to go.” “Thanks Al,” Sonnett responded to her friend. “Bye Alex!!” The other two players responded. As Emily stood up to leave Ali grabbed her in a hug, “Have fun tonight and just enjoy your time together. Don’t stress but also don’t forget to take care you. You matter Emily. You are worthy of her love and hopefully she will come around soon. Text or call if you need anything.” Emily wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes as she responded, “Thanks Ali. It means a lot and I really appreciate it.” Ashlyn gave her a hug as well as Emily walked out of the hotel room and headed to Lindsey’s room.

As Emily approached her friend’s hotel room door she could feel her palms getting sweaty. She wiped them on her pants and knocked on the door. Lindsey swung open the door and grabbed her in a big bear hug. They stood in the doorway in each other’s arms for a few minutes before Lindsey let go and grabbed Sonnett’s hand and led her to the bed. “What are we watching Linessi?” “I figured we would watch She’s the Man,” Lindsey answered her. Lindsey got the movie set up and got on the bed. She patted the bed and looked at her friend, “Come on Sonny!” As the two girls watched the movie they got closer and closer. Soon you couldn’t tell where one began and one ended. As soon as Emily finally started to feel like this might be a good movie and that maybe Lindsey did have some sort of feelings for her she heard Lindsey’s phone go off. Lindsey rolled away from her friend to grab her phone and looked at it. Emily caught a glimpse of Richard’s name on the screen. As Lindsey texted him back Emily pulled away and curled into herself. If Lindsey noticed she didn’t say anything. After a few more minutes Lindsey groaned, “Sorry Sonny, Richie wants me to call him so I’m going to step out for a few minutes.” “It’s ok,” Sonnett replied lowly, “I’m getting tired so I’m just going to head to my room to go to bed. I will see you tomorrow.” Lindsey looked at her a little sadly as she got up to leave. “You don’t have to go Sonn. I won’t be on the phone that long.” “Really Lindsey, It’s ok. I’m just going to head to bed.” Emily gave her friend a big hug and tried to memorize the feeling of Lindsey in her arms and the way she smelled before she left the room. After the door clicked shut behind her she texted Kelley to see where she was.

**Kell Bell: I’m hanging with Allie in the newlywed’s room. Do you need me?** **Come on down here.**

**Sonny: I’m on my way.**

Emily knocked on the door and was met with Kelley’s sympathetic eyes. “How was movie night?” “It was great until that dick had to ruin it,” Emily responded bitterly. She then proceeded to tell the girls how her night with Lindsey went. She figured if Allie didn’t already know then she would soon enough with everyone that knew. As she got to the part about Richard interrupting their time Ashlyn and Allie both asked Sonny she wanted them to take care of the “Richard Problem”. As the other three looked at them weirdly the two former Tarheels just kept rambling about how to take care of Richard and how Allie’s Secret Service tactics would help them. Kelley finally spoke up and asked, “What the hell did they teach you guys at UNC?!” Everyone got a good laugh out of it. As Emily found herself surrounded by this group of veterans she felt extremely blessed. She was still upset about how movie night ended and everything else going on but she was starting to think that just maybe, everything might be ok.


	3. Chapter 3

When Emily woke up the next morning she heard a rustling on the other side of her door. She sat up in bed a lot more awake than she was before. Just as she was contemplating the best course of action to take the door bust open to reveal Mal struggling with her luggage. Sonny laughed as she got up to try to help her friend, “Nice of you to finally show up!” “Oh hush!” replied the forward as she set her stuff down against the wall beside the unmade bed. “I already had media obligations that were set before we knew the dates for camp. Trust me, I would have much rather been here with you guys.” Emily gave her friend a hug and nodded in understanding. “Enough about me though,” Mal said, ”What is going on with you being traded to Orlando?” The blonde defender sighed as she sat on the edge of her bed, “Yeah, it’s true that I’m being traded. They called me late Saturday night to tell me. Like, I don’t mind the fact that now I will get to play with Alex, Ali, and Ashlyn more often and I will be closer to home but it’s going to be super hard to leave Portland and everything it has to offer.” “More like it’s going to be super hard to leave Lindsey,” Mal muttered under her breath. “What was that?” Emily questioned. “Oh nothing, I didn’t say anything,” replied the younger girl as she made a mental note to talk to Lindsey later.

Training on Thursday was tough but Sonnett felt good about it. All of the physical exertion allowed her to work out some of her added stress that the trade news brought with it. Kelley was beside her a lot during training and was giving her encouragement with every drill they ran through. Emily thought to herself just how blessed she was to have a friend like Kelley. After awhile, Emily found herself partnered up with Ali. They really did work well together. As they headed toward the bench Ali grinned at her and said, “This is going to be fun!” and Emily couldn’t help but find herself agreeing. Emily felt someone sit down beside her. She looked over to see Tobin looking at her with a sad look on her face. “Tobs- I don’t really know what to say. I’m really going to miss you,” Emily replied looking at her friend sadly. Tobin wrapped her in a big hug and just held on for a few minutes before speaking, “Do you want to grab lunch with me and Chris?” Emily thought for a few seconds and realized that it was a great idea. Besides talking and just being around both Tobin and Christen always made her feel better. Their chill and calming presences were always wanted. “Yeah Tobin, that would be great actually!” “Ok cool,” Tobin nodded as she finally let go of Emily.

After returning to the hotel to shower and change Emily went down to the lobby to wait for the couple. She had just sat down on a couch in the lobby when she heard the elevator ding followed by the sound of Christen’s laughter. She looked up to see Tobin and Christen walking towards her. The curly haired forward opened her arms as Emily approached them and gave her a hug. “Hey Em,” she said kindly, “I’m sorry that you are having to deal with this. I know how hard it can be to be traded from somewhere you love.” “Thanks Chris,” Em replied soaking up the love and comfort that her friend was giving. Tobin spoke up, “Do you guys want to go to that little café a few blocks away?” Everyone agreed and they made their way out the door and headed to lunch.

After they ordered their food Christen looked at Emily and asked, “So how are you doing with everything going on?” Emily took a deep breath and started to tell the whole story of how she found out about the trade and how conflicted she was feeling about it. “I’m excited to get a chance to play with Alex and Ali, and Ash but I’m really going to miss Portland. I have played there for my whole professional career. I love the town and the atmosphere and the fans. I’m going to miss all of my teammates like Tobin, Sinc, Ellie, and Hayley and everyone else. At the same time though, I’m a little excited to be able to learn from Ali and Ashlyn and not have to defend Alex in an actual game,” Emily kind of laughed, “I will also be closer to family in Georgia but not too close either.” The two veteran players sitting across from Sonny nodded in understanding. “I know how you feel. It’s really hard when you play for a club for so long and give them so much to just feel like they are pushing you out. It’s the nature of our sport but it still sucks. I think Orlando could be a really good fit for you though. I will really miss seeing you whenever I’m at home in Portland.” Tobin had been quiet up until then, “What about Lindsey?” The blonde looked around refusing to meet Tobin’s eyes, “What about Lindsey? Of course I’m going to miss her.” The other two people just kept staring at Emily until she broke. “I don’t know about Lindsey guys. I have feelings for her but she apparently doesn’t feel that way about me. She is back with Richard anyway.” Christen patted her hand on the table sympathetically and said, “Just give her time. I bet she will come around.” Tobin agreed with her girlfriend and added, “Maybe sooner than you think. I know she feels something for you that is not strictly friendship but she may not know what it is yet. I bet the distance will cause her look at those feelings a little harder.” As Emily digested what Tobin was telling her, Christen spoke softly, “You’re in love with her aren’t you?” The younger girl froze and looked up at her friends before whispering, “Yes.” The darker skinned veteran stood from her seat and walked around to sit next to Emily and wrapped her in a hug. As Tobin watched these events unfold in front of her she committed to talking to Lindsey at some point soon. “Geez, everyone on the team is going to know about my feelings for Lindsey by the end of the week,” Emily laughed out. Christen and Tobin gave her questioning looks, “We aren’t going to say anything Em.” “I know you guys won’t. It’s just that Kelley knows and then yesterday Alex, Ali, Ash, and Allie Long found out so it just seems like everyone knows.” Tobin nodded understandingly as Emily named off the people who knew. Their waitress approached their table with the food and handed it out. As the three soccer players ate their lunch they talked about the break and Christmas and of course the “Royal Wedding”.

Back at the hotel Mal cornered Rose in the hallway and pulled her into her shared room with Emily. “What’s going on?” Rose asked looking around wildly. “Have Emily and Lindsey talked since the trade news broke?” Mal questioned. “Yeah, I know they talked some,” the freckled girl responded, “They were supposed to have a movie night last night. Apparently, Sonnett came and they watched She’s the Man but then she dipped out early.” “Hmmm, I wonder why she would leave early,” replied Mal, “Emily normally loves movie nights with Lindsey and never wants them to end.” “I thought the same thing,” said Rose, “I finally got out of Lindsey that Emily left after Lindsey told her that she had to step out for a little bit to call Richard.” Mal made a gagging noise and motion at the mention of their friend’s boyfriend and said,” I probably would have left too if I’m being honest. I really hate him.” Rose nodded in agreement. “He is definitely the worst.” “Ok, so I think you should try talking to Sonnett and just see how she is feeling and see if she will tell you anything concrete about her feelings for Lindsey,” said Mal, “I will talk to Lindsey later and see if she says anything about Sonny and how she feels about the trade.” The two girls agreed that their plan was a good one and promised to let each other know how their respective talks went.

After dinner that night the team had some time before curfew. Rose asked Sonnett if she wanted to hang out together that evening. “I guess,” Em replied a little confused, “Just us? Why not Mal, Sam, and Lindsey?” Rose rolled her eyes and said, “Well Lindsey said something about Face Timing Richard tonight and asking for the room for an hour or so and Mal said she was going to Face Time Dansby for a little while. I think Sam was going to hang out with Abby tonight.” Emily looked down and let out a sigh at the mention of Richard and Rose made sure to take note of it. “Yeah, that sounds good,” agreed Sonny. The two friends walked back to the room that Emily and Mal shared and met their friend coming out of the room. “Hey guys… I will be back later,” as she rushed down the hallway. “Say hi to Dansby for me!” called Emily after her teammate.

After the two girls got settled in the room and turned on a college basketball game in the background Rose turned to Emily, “So how are you doing with the trade news?” Emily should have known that this conversation was coming, she really should have but she didn’t really think about it. “I’m doing okay with it,” replied the blonde, “It’s going to be hard to leave everyone but I’m excited to get to play with Alex and the other girls and be closer to home.” Rose just stared at her. Emily glanced over to find her friend just looking at the like she was waiting for her to say something, “What?” Rose just stared at her for another minute before prompting her, “And what else?” “What else is there to say Rose?” Emily said a little forcefully. “What about Lindsey?” Rose continued, “We both know that you have some serious feelings for her. What are you going to do about them?” That was all it took for Emily to jump up from the bed and start pacing angrily around the room. “Well Rose I don’t know! As you so eloquently put it, I have serious feelings for her! No shit Sherlock! I’m fucking in love with her but all she can see is that jackass Richard who is old enough to be her dad! He uses and abuses her and then dumps her and I’m the one to help pick up the pieces and she keeps running back to him!” shouted Emily before continuing at a little lower volume, “It hurts to have to be around her and constantly watch this happen over and over so maybe the trade is a good thing. Maybe it will force me to get over her. Everyone else seems to think that she has feelings for me too and that the distance will make her realize them but I’m not banking on that happening.” Rose sat on the bed in shock watching her friend pace around the room. Emily finally stopped pacing and turned to look at her friend on the bed with tears in her eyes, “I just don’t know what to do Rose. I really do love her but it hurts so fucking much to watch her do the same thing over and over again. I deserve some happiness in my life too and I don’t have that while watching her be with him.” Rose got up and wrapped her teammate in a hug and whispered reassuring things in her ear.

While Rose and Emily were having their moment Mal was approaching Lindsey’s room. She had called Dansby just to talk for a few minutes and fill him in. Now she found herself knocking on the door in front of her. When Lindsey answered the door she was holding her phone in her hand and could see Richard’s name on it “Can we talk?” Mal questioned. “Ummm yeah, sure,” replied Lindsey as she stepped aside for Mal to come in. “Listen Richie, I’ve got to go. Mal is here to talk,” Lindsey said into the phone, “Yes it really is Mal not Emily. I don’t know why you are like this. I’m hanging up now.” Mal watched her friend hang up the phone in a huff of anger. “Well it sounds like he is as pleasant as ever,” quipped Mal. Lindsey just gave her a look that plainly said, “Please don’t start this now.” Lindsey walked over to join Mal sitting on her bed. “So it sounds like camp has been interesting so far,” started Mal, “What all did I miss?” “Camp has been good so far. It’s been good to see everyone. The biggest news was about Portland trading Sonny to Orlando.” Mal gazed at her friend trying to judge her mood as she talked about the trade. “Yeah I heard about that. How are you feeling about it?” Lindsey took a deep breath and was quiet for a moment before responding, “Honestly, not the greatest. I think it could be good for her professionally and she will be closer to home but I’m really going to miss her. I don’t know what I’m going to do without her in Portland with me.” The dark haired forward listened to her friend talk about all the things she would miss being able to do with Emily. “And to make things worse, Richard seems delighted about the news so he was no help when I tried to talk to him about my feelings.” Mal couldn’t help the snort that came out when Lindsey mentioned Richard’s feelings about Emily. Lindsey turned to look at Mal, “What’s funny about that?” “Well,” the brunette started, “The fact that you thought he would be understanding about your feelings, especially when they involve Sonnett, is hilarious. You know that he hates Sonny so it’s no surprise that he feels that way.” Lindsey tried to defend her boyfriend, “He doesn’t hate her and he is good at listening sometimes. Like not a lot of the time but sometimes.” “Only when he wants something,” Mal muttered under her breath. “I know how he feels about Em,” said the blonde sadly, “I don’t know why he feels that way but it makes me mad whenever he treats her that way.” “So why do you keep going back to him?” questioned the forward before continuing, “He wasn’t even here in person and still managed to ruin movie night for you and Sonny.” Lindsey looked at her friend with her mouth agape, “How did you know that?” “I didn’t for sure until now but you just confirmed it. I knew she left movie night early and hung out with Kelley but I didn’t know why for sure until now. Really though, why are you still with him Linds?” “I don’t know,” said the midfielder sadly, “He is just always there and I guess I know what I’m getting into with him. I just want someone to want me and he does.” “Yeah, but he also wants other women besides you and that’s not fair to you. You are worth more than that Lindsey,” replied her friend with a serious look on her face, “You deserve more than what he has to offer you. There is someone out there who loves you for you and only you. Someone who would give you the world if that’s what you asked for.” The blonde looked at her is disbelief, “Oh yeah? Like who?” Mal shook her head and replied, “I’m not going to name names but I bet they are closer than you think. Just think about it. Either way, Richard is not good for you and I really think that know that deep down. I love you Lindsey and I just want the best for you.” Lindsey wrapped her friend in a hug and said, “Thanks Mal. I’m definitely going to give what you said some thought. Thank you for the talk.” “Anytime Linds, anytime.”

Rose and Mal met each other in the hallway on the way back to their respective rooms. “So how did your talk go?” questioned Mal. Before the freckled face girl could answer the door they were standing in front of swung open to reveal a grinning Kelley. They two younger players turned with a look of shock on their faces as Kelley pulled them inside the room and sat them down on the bed. “Kelley! What are you doing?” questioned Allie as she came out of the bathroom. “Well I was going to go get some ice when I heard these two lovely ladies outside of our room and it sounded like they were plotting.” “Ooohhh!! Who are you guys plotting against?” questioned the blonde excitedly. The two younger players looked at each other before coming to a silent agreement that they may need some re-enforcements on this. Rose replied, “Sonny and Lindsey are in love with other but they are being stupid so we want to help them out.” Both veteran players shouted, “I’m in!” Rose continued on to tell them about the talks that they had with Sonnett and Lindsey tonight. As the younger girls left room a while later they knew that they had some good friends to help them with their best friend’s dilemma and were confident that they would succeed in getting them together.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kind of a filler chapter trying to move things along

The next morning Rose and Mal noticed Kelley and Allie whispering to some of the other veterans at breakfast and hoped that their plan wouldn’t completely blow up after involving this many people. “Have you guys seen Lindsey?” Sonnett questioned her friends as she sat down. Rose looked up and answered, “She was moving slow this morning but was getting up when I left the room earlier.” About that time Lindsey walked in and went to fix her a plate of breakfast. She came to the table where her friends were sitting and plopped down next to Emily. “Are you okay?” she questioned softly as Lindsey started to slowly pick at her food. “Yeah, just didn’t sleep very well.” Sonny looked at her friend with concern but Lindsey brushed it off. “I’m fine Sonnett. I promise.” The group resumed their conversation with each other but kept a close watch on Lindsey all during breakfast and they weren’t the only ones.

Once they got to the pitch for practice, Tobin grabbed Lindsey’s arm and claimed her as her partner for the practice. Emily stood there confused as she watched them walk away together because she wanted to be Lindsey’s partner. She felt someone put their arm around her shoulder. “Tobin is worried about Lindsey,” said Christen softly, “I can be your partner if that’s okay.” Sonnett smiled softly at the older player and nodded, “Thanks Christen.” “No problem Em,” replied the darker skinned girl as she squeezed the defender’s shoulders in a light hug as they walked towards the middle of the field together to go through stretches. The good thing about being partners with Christen is that she doesn’t have to be talking the entire time. She can sit in silence and just be and let Emily do the same. So as they warmed up Emily was able to think in peace. She thought about her friendship with Lindsey from the very beginning to now. She thought about how her feelings had changed over time. How they had gone from friendly feelings to a crush and eventually to love. Yep, she definitely loved Lindsey. She could admit that to herself pretty easily now. She couldn’t pinpoint one exact moment where her feelings changed but they had. She broke out of her thoughts as she heard Vlatko whistle for them to break into position groups and start drills.

Over the next couple weeks it was more of the same thing over and over. Wake up, practice, recovery, lunch, practice, recovery, dinner, and sleep. Everyone was working hard to prove that they deserved a spot on the Olympic Qualifying roster. Before they knew it, their game against Haiti was upon them. Neither Lindsey nor Emily was in the starting XI so they were able to sit beside each other on the bench and enjoy each other’s presence. They had fallen back into their easy friendship over the past couple weeks. Emily found being around Lindsey a little easier now that she had admitted her feelings to herself and even some of her teammates. It was also easier because Richard wasn’t able to come between them during camp. With their schedule he couldn’t monopolize Lindsey’s time even over the phone so that made things a lot easier. So they sat together comfortably as they watched the game start. At the 2 minute mark Lynn had the ball streaking down the right side. She lost her shoe but was able to complete a cross over to the left where Christen stood ready to poke it in. The whole bench cheered as they watched the ball roll into the bottom left of the net. They didn’t score anymore before the half but shortly after returning for the second half Lynn was able to find the back of the net. Lindsey was subbed on for Rose in the 70thminute and 3 minutes later headed a goal in on an assist from Pinoe. Emily was so proud and happy for Lindsey as she watched from the sideline. In the 80thminute Sonnett was subbed on for Kelley. Carli managed to score a late goal in stoppage time to make it a 4-0 win for the U.S.

For their next game against Panama both Emily and Lindsey got the start. 3 minutes into the game Lindsey found a loose ball in front of the goal and kicked the ball into the back of the net to give them an early lead. 12 minutes later Lindsey assisted on a Lynn Williams goal to go up by 2 goals. Less than 5 minutes later, Lindsey found the back of the net again. Emily was so excited as she jumped on Lindsey and kissed the side of her head. Less than 20 minutes in and Lindsey had a brace. Rose was able to score a few minutes later and put them up 4-0 before going into the locker room at half time. In the 60thminute Christen was subbed in for Pinoe and scored 9 minutes later to make the score 5-0. Tobin was subbed on for Lynn in the 70thminute. Jessica scored a minute later and then Tobin scored on an assist from Lindsey in the 77thminute to make the score 7 nil. Just when they thought that this game couldn’t get better Lindsey scored again to complete the hat trick and make the score 8-0. Emily couldn’t believe it. She grabbed Lindsey in the tightest hug possible and soaked in the feeling of having Lindsey in her arms. The game ended with a score of 8-0. As they celebrated in the locker room Emily couldn’t keep the smile off of her face and she watched Lindsey happily mingle about with her friends. Emily felt someone sit down beside her and looked to find Ashlyn grinning at her. “Ya know Sonny, if you keep looking at Lindsey like that then she is going to figure out that you love her.” Sonnett looked at her newest teammate and scoffed, “No she won’t. Besides, I’m just happy for her.” “Sonnett, with that smile you have on your face, we might as well hang a sign that says I LOVE LINDSEY HORAN in big letters. Trust me on this. I really do think you should tell her how you feel though. Just think about it.” Ash patted her knee and walked back over to her wife. As Sonnett watched Ash and Ali be all cute and shit she could only think about how bad she wanted that with Lindsey one day.


	5. Update

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry it’s been awhile. I have been struggling with writing lately with everything going on. I am working on the next chapter right now. I hope to have it posted really soon!

Make sure you read the chapter notes! New chapter coming soon!


	6. Chapter 5

Later that night after the game against Panama, Lindsey thought back to the conversation she and Mal had about Richard. It was no secret to Lindsey that none of her friends liked him. They weren’t overly rude to him or anything. Actually they really tried to be nice to him but it never seemed to work out. Richard always found something to complain about, especially if Sonny was involved.

So now, Lindsey found herself wide awake and thinking. If none of her friends liked her boyfriend then what did she like so much about him? It wasn’t the way he treated her. He acted more like an agent than a boyfriend sometimes. He would make comments about how much money she could make doing certain media events. Of course, then he would turn around and want Lindsey to spend her money on something that was more often than not for him.

He would also make snide comments about her body. He would say things like, “You should be grateful that Adidas wants to sponsor you. They normally like skinnier girls.” He would make comments about her cheat day meals and how maybe she should skip them. He wasn’t shy about criticizing her body type. Sometimes it even made her feel like she was back at PSG with that horrid coach.

As Lindsey fell asleep restlessly, Emily was down the hall doing the same thing. The thoughts running in her mind made it hard to fall asleep. After getting a few hours of sleep Sonny was awakened by a knock at the door. Confused since it was technically an ooff day/ recovery day, she walked to the door and looked through the peep hole to see Kelley standing on the other side. 

Emily opened the door for her friend quietly so as to not wake up her sleeping roommate. “Kel, it’s four in the morning. What’s wrong?”

“You’re coming with me. Let’s go.” Kelley grabbed her arm and starts to drag her down the hallway and entered the elevator as Sonnett protested. “Kelley! Where are you taking me?”

As the duo exited the elevator Sonny questioned her fellow Georgia peach again as to where they were going. Kelley just looked at her with a look that clearly said to stop asking questions and pulled her towards the parking garage. They approached a black Jeep that had surf boards tied to the top of it. Emily suddenly understood what was going on.

She recalled numerous conversations with Kelley telling her that out on the water is where she goes to get away from anxiety and stress. It helps her to see the big picture and be reminded of all the beauty in the world. The blonde defender was touched by her friend’s gesture knowing how personal it was.

That was something they had in common. Even though they may both be loud and boisterous they aren’t really outspoken people. They tended too keep their thoughts mainly to themselves and show support through actions and behind the scenes. They were good at being the goofy, funny ones but being serious made them uncomfortable in a way. It’s not that they couldn’t be serious and didn’t care about serious things because they did, but they weren’t good at taking about it.

As they got closer to the beach Emily looked over at her freckled face friend and said, “Thanks Kel. This means a lot to me.” Kelley smiled back at her as she parked the Jeep and replied, “No problem. Now, let’s go hit the waves.”

The two girls changed into wetsuits that Kelley had stowed in the back and picked up their boards and headed towards the water. They took turns riding the waves back to shore before stopping to rest and watch the sun rise.

As they sat on their boards in the water, the older girl asked, “How are you doing Em?” Emily took a deep breath and answered, “Maybe a little better now”

After a short pause she continued, “I have come to terms with the fact that I love Lindsey. I am in love with her but she doesn’t love me back. At least not right now.”

Kelley nodded along to Sonnett’s words and let her friend continue. “I really hope that the trade to Orlando will help. Maybe the distance will help me to move on. I need to work on myself right now. I feel so drained at times and stuck in this viscous cycle.” Kelley wished at that point that she could take away the pain in her friend’s voice.  
She hurt for her friend because after all, Kelley knew all too well the feeling of loving a friend who didn’t love you back the same way. She knew all about the heartache and restless nights. She knew all about wishing her friend happiness but wishing it could be with her. She also knew that things got better. Knowing that no words would make her feel better Kelley settled for reaching over and wrapping Emily in a hug before they headed back in.

When the girls arrived back at the hotel almost everyone was eating breakfast in the conference room. They saw two empty seats at the table occupied by Ali, Ash, Tobin, and Christen.

“Where were you two this morning?” Christen questioned as they sat down with their plates of food.

“We went out surfing early this morning,” answered Kelley. After those words left her mouth they heard two large, audible gasps.

“You went surfing without us?” Cried Ashlyn indignantly as Tobin sat there looking at them like a lost puppy dog and moaned out, “Duuudddeee”

Kelley realized her mistake as she saw the hurt on her friend’s faces. Just like being out on the ocean helped her, it helped the others in a similar way. The three friends had many conversations out on the water.

“Sorry guys! It was kind of a spur of the moment thing.” She answered them sorrowfully.

“We call dibs on going next time!” Tobin exclaimed as the blonde goalkeeper nodded beside her.

As the other girls were going on about surfing Ali and Christen took the time to check in with Emily. “How are you this morning,” asked the dark skinned forward.

“I’m doing okay. It still hurts, A LOT, but I have to learn to live with it.” 

Ali nodded as she listened to the younger girl before responding , “I wouldn’t give up completely though Son. It may take longer than you would like but it could still happen. Sometimes good things take time but when you find that person, it is magical.” As she finished her sentence she glanced at Ashlyn goofing off with the other girls and thought to herself just how lucky she is. Beside her, Christen was thinking the same thing as she looked at Tobin.

Emily sighed and nodded her head at Ali’s words. “At first I was really upset about the trade and I still am in a way but I’m kind of excited about not having to have a front row seat to watching that douchebag treat her the way he does.”

Both older girls nodded understandingly. “It’s always hard to leave a place that you are so connected with. Especially the place where you really grew up and became an adult. Like for me, Germany will always hold a special place in my heart.” 

Seeing the sad look on Emily’s face Tobin leaned over and gave her a big hug. Em melted into Tobin’s arms because who doesn’t love a Tobin hug?

A few days later the US had their game against Costa Rica. Lindsey and Sonnett both go to start the game and play the whole time. Christen started off the scoring in the 4th minute. Lindsey followed soon after with a goal of her own. Press then scored again before half time to make it 3-0 going into the locker room.

The US scored three more goals in the second half to win the game 6-0. As the team was celebrating around them Rose and Mal had their heads together talking lowly and glancing in the direction of Lindsey and Sonnett. They thought they were being sneaky but someone saw them plotting and vowed to herself to get to the bottom of it.


	7. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lindsey and Sonnett have a soft moment. Plotting, plotting, and even more plotting. Surf club happens and things are revealed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW for this chapter. TW- possible mild abuse.

The next morning the team left for the airport to get on a plane to Carson, California. One of the coaching staff members was reading off seat assignments as they loaded up on the bus. Emily was making her way too the bus when she heard someone running up behind her. She turned just in time to see the flying squirrel, AKA Kelley, jump on her back. “Maybe we will be seat buddies!” She screeched. Emily knew that there were worst options but she really could use some quiet and Kelley wasn’t known for being a quiet person.

“Sonnett and Horan!” The coach yelled above the noise. Emily turned to face her coach as he continued, “You two will be seat buddies on the flight today.” Em just nodded as Kelley gave her a sympathetic look and took a seat beside her on the bus. “I will be fine Kel,” Sonny said as Kelley looked like she was going to ask to switch with Lindsey.

As Sonnett boarded the plane she could see Lindsey already in their row with the window seat still open, Emily knew that Lindsey didn’t really like being able to look out of the window and turbulence could be rough on her. Em approached the row as the blonde looked up at her, “I hope it’s okay that I left the window seat for you?”

“Yeah Linds, that’s fine,” Emily gave her a soft smile as she sat down and pulled out her air pods. As they felt the plane start to taxi down the runway Lindsey reached over and grabbed Sonnett’s hand out of reflex. Emily gently squeezed her friend’s hand as if to say everything was going to be fine.

The flight was kind of rough with some amount of turbulence almost the whole flight. Emily did her best to distract Lindsey from it by playing her favorite songs and even some Grey’s Anatomy episodes. She skipped around knowing which ones Lindsey loved to rewatch over and over.

As Lindsey was struggling with everything going on with the plane she realized that she felt safe even through the panic she felt. She hated flying with Richard because he would always tell her she was childish for being scared of flying. He would force her to take the window seat most of the time. He never tried to comfort her either. He would go to sleep or continually flirt with the flight attendants or even both sometimes. Once again Lindsey was asking herself the questions of why she was with him.

“Thank you,” Emily heard a soft voice from beside her say. She turned to see Lindsey staring at her with a thoughtful look on her face. “Anytime Linds. You know that.” Sonny continued, “I would do anything for you. I love you.” As Lindsey listened to her friend’s words she knew without a doubt that every word Emily said was true. She really had some thinking to do.

As the two friends were being cute together one of their friends was also having a tough time but not because of plane turbulence. Rose had the privilege of sitting next too the person who had seen her and Mal plotting the night before.

“Allie!” Rose whisper shouted, “Be quiet! I don’t want them to know that we are interfering.” The older blonde lowered her voice some and continued, “Ok Rosie but seriously, what is our next plan of action?” Rose looked at her like she had gone crazy and said, “Next plan of action? I don’t know! We haven’t gotten that far.” 

Allie looked at her exasperatedly and said, “Rose, you always have to have a plan!” Rose quipped back at the blonde, “It’s not a battle. I think you have been playing too much Call of Duty.” Allie scoffed and rolled her eyes, “Whatever! When we get to the hotel we need to talk about this!

Meanwhile, Mal was filling Sam in on their “not a plan” plan. Or she was trying to at least. Sam wasn’t quite grasping the idea. “Mal, I just don’t understand!” “Sam! What is so hard to understand? They are in love with each other and they wont admit it.” “Yes Mallory… I got that part. Everyone knows that… except for those two apparently… but why do we have to do something? Why not let it just happen?” “Samantha… Do you really think those two are going to figure it out without any help?” “Okay fair point… What are we going to do though? Lock them in a closet?” Mal looked at her as if she had grown a second head and just groaned, “Nooo…..”

When they got to the hotel the coaching staff were handing out room keys and assignments. Tobin was standing there with a sad look on her face as Christen was called away as Crystal’s roommate. Her spirits were lifted some as her name was called next to room with Kelley. As the two veterans headed down the hallway the team could hear Tobin exclaiming “at least now you can’t leave to go surfing without me!”

Ali and Ashlyn walked up to Rose and Sam to get their respective roommates. Julie approached them a few minutes later and looked at Lindsey and said, “You’re rooming with me so I went ahead and grabbed your key for you.” “Thanks Julie!” Lindsey replied with a soft smile. She turned to look at Emily, “Thanks again for earlier Son. You’re the best!”

The two blondes approached the elevator and Sonnett watched Lindsey was away with a pained look on her face. “Yo! Sonny!” Screamed a voice from behind her. Emily turned to see her pink haired captain walking towards her. “We’re roomies!” The forward excitedly proclaimed. Sonnett was still looking towards the elevator that Lindsey had just entered into.

“Oh boy…” Pinoe sighed as she threw her arm over the defender’s shoulders. “What?” Questioned the blonde “I have seen that look before,” said Megan. “What look? I don’t have a look!” Exclaimed the younger girl as they entered the elevator to take them to their room. Pinoe just looked at her as they stood in the elevator together. “Yes you do Sonnett,” said Megan, “You most definitely have a look.” “I do not!” Emily sputtered as they entered the hotel room. “You love the Great Horan don’t you?” Questioned the older girl as they sat down on the hotel beds.

Sonny could only gape at her friend after she asked that question. “You have the same look that I had to watch Ashlyn and Tobin both wear as they pined after Kriegs and Christen.” Emily’s face fell as she heard that because she didn’t think she would ever be able to have that with Lindsey. She told Pinoe as much when she asked why she looked so sad. “Don’t you worry Sonny… I got Krashlyn and Preath together so I will help get you and Lindsey together too!” Now Emily was worried for a whole different reason.

Rose was unpacking her stuff in her and Ali’s room when she heard banging on the door. She figured Kriegs had forgotten her key when she went to Ashlyn’s room to see if her phone charger had gotten packed with her stuff. So when she opened the door she wasn’t expecting to be almost run over by Allie as she dragged Mal, who in turn dragged Sam, into the room.

“What are you doing Allie?” Rose questioned. Mal was behind her rolling her eyes while Sam just looked confused. Allie just gave her a look that clearly said she should know why Allie was there. “We need to plan to get Sonnett and Lindsey together.So I brought these two to help us. First order of business, we should have code names!” The three younger players looked at the midfielder as if she had lost her mind.

“umm NO… no code names,” answered Rose. “Everybody sit down,” ordered Mal before continuing, “Now, we all agree that Emily and Lindsey belong together correct?” Everyone nodded. Everyone is in agreement that Richard is a dick, correct?” Once again everyone nodded. Rose spoke up, “We all agree on that but we need some ideas as to how to make it happen.”

Before any of them could offer up any suggestions the door opened to reveal Ali. She walked into the room to find the scene before her. “What are you guys doing?” She asked slowly. The other girls looked at each other to see what they thought they should tell Ali. Well, Sam just looked panicked at being found out. After a few seconds of silence Ali asked again, “What are you guys doing?” She stared Sam down knowing she would probably break first and if not Sam then Mal. Sam blurted out, “Sonny and Lindsey belong together so we need a plan to get them together!” Mal followed up with, “Also, Richard is an ass and needs to be dealt with accordingly.”

Ali stared at them for a few minutes not saying anything before saying, “I want in on this.” She sat down and listened to the other girls throw out ideas as to how to get their teammates together. The ideas got crazier and crazier but after Sam yelling to lock them in a closet for the third time and Mal telling her they were trying to get them out of the closet , NOT back in Ali decided she needed some help. She pulled out her phone and sent a text. Almost immediately her phone rang.

The other girls looked her way as she answered the phone and said, “Help me! They are trying to get Sonnett and Horan together but they wont stop talking about code names and locking them in closets.” “Let me guess,” Alex Morgan’s voice floated out of the speaker, “Allie wants code names and Sam is all for locking them in a closet” “You would be correct.” Answered the older girl. Allie and Sam managed to look a little offended at the comments from their friends.

After a little while they had tabled the talk of how to get the two girls together and moved on to how to get rid of the problem, Richard. Since Mal knew the most about him because she was from Colorado as well, she told them what she knew about him. “I know he has a reputation for cheating. I’m sure he cheats on Lindsey any chance he gets. I also know he has had money issues before.” The other girls decided that some research needed to be do on Richard. Alex volunteered to do the research since she had the most free time. She also mentioned that she knew the Orlando SWAT team but no one was really sure how that was supposed to help.

The next day was a light practice day. After practice was over the team was free for the rest of the day. Tobin, Kelley, Ashlyn, and Emily decided to go to the beach to surf for awhile that afternoon. They went to Long Beach and rented some boards from a surf shop there. After getting their boards they hurried to the water.

After surfing for awhile and trying to out do each other with tricks(mainly Ashlyn and Kelley) they met in a circle to rest and take in the beauty around them. “Guys…” Emily spoke up. Everyone turned to look at her. “I’m afraid,” she started to say but everyone jumped in trying to reassure her that it would all work out. “No guys, not that,” she interrupted them before continuing, “Pinoe knows how I feel about Linds and I’m scared of what she may do.” Ashlyn and Tobin exchanged looks as Kelley grinned and laughed out loud. “This is great!” Kelley exclaimed.

Ashlyn spoke up, “I completely get why you would worry about Pinoe. I know she can be a little over the top sometimes not I can honestly say that I don’t know if Ali and I would be where we are now if it wasn’t for her. She was very annoying at times and will push the limits at times but she will always be there and be your biggest fan.”

Emily took in the words of her older friends and nodded slowly. “I just don’t want too force Lindsey into anything that she doesn’t actually want to do. I’m afraid that Pinoe may pressure her and maybe even scare her off. I can barely handle not being with her but it would be a thousand times worse if she left me completely. That’s one reason I’m nervous about the trade.” “What do you mean forget about you Sonny?” Ashlyn asked.

“What if she realizes she doesn’t need me when she is by herself in Portland? What if she gets another best friend? Also, what if I don’t perform well then I may not get called up anymore but she definitely will,” the young defender started rambling. The other three girls glanced at each other before Tobin reached out and pulled Emily’s board to hers. “Emily Sonnett, look at me.” Tobin kept ahold of her hand until she looked up at the lanky veteran. “I have watched you two dance around each other for years now. Both in Portland and on the National team. Take it from someone who has danced that same dance before, You don’t need to worry about that girl ever forgetting you. She may not realize what those feelings are exactly yet but you have to be patient with her.”

“And Sonnett please believe me when I tell you how good of a player you are. I’m so excited for you to be coming to the Pride. There’s no one else, other than Ali, that I would want defending in front of me,” Ashlyn spoke up before continuing, ”Ali thought she would never make it back to the National Team but we worked everyday and got better and built her confidence up. We can help you too.”

Emily knew right then and there how lucky she was. She smiled a little and said, “Thanks guys.” Kelley could tell something was still bothering her though, “What else is there Son? You aren’t saying something.” Emily hated that Kelley knew her so well in that moment. “Well… I’m worried abut Lindsey. I’m worried about when she is with Richard,” she said lowly.

“What do you mean Sonnett?” Asked the keeper. Emily took a deep breath before saying, “I’m not sure but I think he may hit her sometimes. I have seen bruises but when I ask about them Lindsey always has an excuse. Maybe he doesn’t but I have a bad feeling so I tried to always make sure that they weren’t alone if I could help it, which is probably one of the reasons he hates me…” the blonde rambled on.

“Fucking asshole,” grumbled Ashlyn as Tobin gripped her board hard as her knuckles turned white. Kelley swore, “Motherfucker!” From behind Emily. The younger girl took in the scene before her as tears came to her eyes. Tobin noticed and wrapped her in a hug. “Em, I promise you that I will watch out for her in Portland.” “Also,” Ashlyn stated, “We will start looking into this guy and see if we can find out anything.” “Yeah Em,” said Kelley, “You don’t have to shoulder that knowledge alone. We will help in anyway we can.”

When the girls arrived back at the hotel Sonny went off to find Rose, Mal, Sam, and Lindsey because they wanted to hang out and watch a movie. The three older girls marched to Tobin and Kelley’s room where Ali and Christen stood waiting for them. As they entered the room the other two girls could tell that something had happened. “Ash, what’s wrong?” Ali asked her wife as she was pacing and muttering curse words under her breath. Christen was busy pulling Tobin into her arms because the brown haired girl was sitting on the bed staring into space while gripping the bed sheets in her hands. Kelley was typing into her hone as fast as she could.

“Babe? Ashlyn?” Ali asked the blonde again, “What is wrong?” “I’m going to kill that motherfucker,” answered Ashlyn. “Me too!” Kelley and Tobin chimed in. “Okay, everyone calm down,” said Christen sternly. “Now, explain to us what happened.” Before any of the girls could speak up Ali’s phone rang and it was Alex requesting to FaceTime. Ali slid her finger across the screen to accept the call and Alex’s worried face appeared on the screen. “Is Kelley with you? She texted me a bunch of cuss words and talking about killing someone but I don’t understand,” she said hurriedly. “Yeah, she is here,” Ali answered as she turned the camera around to show Kelley. “Ashlyn was just about to explain what happened to cause this.”

Ashlyn took a deep breath and started to explain to the girls what Emily had told them earlier. By the end of her explanation, the other girls were just as mad. “I will make sure I check for any prior incidents when I’m doing my research,” Alex said. The three girls who had gone surfing looked up confused so Ali and Alex filled them in on the plan they had concocted earlier. Christen knew after Ali had filled her in earlier. When Alex hung up she promised to let them know what she found out in next couple days.

The next game was against Mexico. Neither Lindsey or Sonnett were starting. They sat next to each other while they were still able. Rose scored a goal in the first five minutes followed by a Sam goal about ten minutes late. After half time Sam scored again to get a brace. Christen went in for Tobin after the goal and scored six minutes later. After Christen’s goal Rose cam out of the game and Lindsey went in. Emily was both happy and sad at this. She was happy because she loved to watch Lindsey play the game she loved but sad because she selfishly wanted her to sit beside her for the rest of the game.

Rose nudged her and said, “You’re drooling.” Emily replied,”I am not,” and then reached up to check just in case. “You’re not,” Rose confirmed, “But you might as well be.” Sonnett just shook her head at her friend and turned back to watch the rest of the game. The US ended up winning 4-0 and now they are on to the final.


	8. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some drama and some realizations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PORTLAND BEAT THE COURAGE!!!! I WAS SO EXCITED!!! (Sorry if there are any NCC fans out there reading this) Eckerstrom had a hell of a game! Also, sorry it has been a little while since my last update. I’m in the middle of a remodel project so its been pretty hectic. As always, thank you guys for reading! Send me any feedback or ideas you have!

Today was the final against Canada. Emily and Lindsey were both starting and they couldn’t be happier about that. They loved being on the pitch together playing the game they love. Now that they would be on separate club teams they didn’t take the opportunity lightly.

The first half was chippy like it always is with Canada. Both teams were playing hard and by halftime it was still scoreless. Vlatko reminded everyone of the game plan and encouraged them to just keep pushing. As they took the pitch for the second half Sonnett squeezed Lindsey’s hand and said, “You’re going to do great!”

In the 60th minute Lynn put them ahead 1-0. Right after that, Pinoe subbed on for Jess. In the 71st minute Lindsey put the ball in the back of the net to make it 2-0. With a semi comfortable lead, Kelley subbed on for Christen. She looked so excited to be playing as a forward. Pinoe scored in the 87th minute but as Canada saw the game slipping away they started to play more rough. In stoppage time Lindsey looked like she might be able to break away with the ball but was taken down hard by Allysha Chapman.

As Sonny saw Lindsey go down and her head bounce off the ground she felt her stomach drop. Thankfully, the game ending whistle blew as it happened so she was able to rush to Lindsey as fast as she could. Kelley was already there and asking her questions.

“You okay Lindsey? Do you need the trainers?” Kelley asked concerned. Sonnett was already about to wave them over when Lindsey waved her off. “I’m fine guys.” Emily wasn’t so sure but decided to take her at her word and keep a close eye on her.

During the on field celebration Emily didn’t stray too far from Lindsey. Everything was fine during the celebration but the longer it went on Emily noticed that she looked a little pale. When they had arrived back into the locker room Mal, Rose, Sam, Lindsey, and Emily were together talking about the game. It all went south when Lindsey stood up to grab something from the top of her locker and all of the sudden fell backwards.

Luckily, Sonny was still watching her like a hawk and caught her before she could hit the floor. She could hear a flurry of activity around her. Kelley was yelling for a trainer and Tobin had rushed over to check on her friend. Emily felt like she couldn’t breathe watching Lindsey lying in her arms still and pale.

The trainers came rushing through the group asking what happened. Sonnett could hear them ask Kelley if Lindsey hit her head during the game earlier. “I don’t know/“ Kelley trailed off. Emily found her voice enough to say, “Yeah, it looked like she hit it on the ground pretty hard when she went down.”

“Okay, we are going to take her to their hospital to get checked out and make sure everything is okay,” said a medic as they loaded Lindsey on a stretcher. Emily felt the room start to spin and like she couldn’t get any air watching the love of her life being wheeled out of the locker room. She sank down the the floor as her knees gave out on her. She could feel someone sit down beside her and wrap their arms around her.

“Emily, look at me,” a soft voice broke through the foot and Sonnett realized it was Christen sitting with her on the floor. “Breathe with me, Match my breaths,” the darker skinned girl’s calm voice soothed Emily’s nerves. As Christen worked on calming the defender down Kelley walked over to the ret of the “kids” to check on them.

Mal was the first one to fall into Kelley’s outstretched arms. Soon Rose and Sam had joined in on the group hug. Mal was full on crying at this point and Rose was tears eyed. Sam just looked shell shocked. Abby came up behind Sam and put her hand on the taller girl’s shoulder. The midfielder turned around and fell into her friend’s arms.

Tobin had joined Christen and Emily on the floor and was holding the younger girl’s hand. Ashlyn had gone off to get van keys to take the girls to the hospital. Ashlyn came back with three sets of van keys and threw a set to Julie and Alyssa both and kept the third for herself.

Once Christen had calmed Sonnett down some Tobin helped her to her feet. They split into groups to go in the vans. Ashlyn’s group which consisted of herself, Ali, Sonny, Christen, Tobin, Allie, and Pinoe left first. Julie’s group included Kelley, Mal, rose, Sam, Abby, Andi, and Crystal. They left after quickly changing clothes and grabbing spare clothes for the first group to change into at the hospital.

The third group stayed behind to help pack up their teammates things before heading to the hospital. The remaining group was Alyssa, Becky, Carli, Casey, Tierra, Jess, Lynn, and AD. After making sure everything was packed up they went to the van and headed towards the hospital.

When Alyssa’s group arrived at the hospital they found the rest of the team in the waiting room. Sonnett was curled up in a chair between Kelley and Rose. Tobin was nervously pacing back and forth across the floor as Christen sat watching her carefully. Ali, Mal, and Vlatko were huddled together in the corner. “We have let her parents know,” Vlatko said, “but when we try calling Richard we can’t get in touch with him. We thought you may know a better way Mallory since you know him.” “I can try the number I have for him,” replied the forward , “I can also try to get in touch with him through mutual friends.” Vlatko nodded his head and responded, “Okay, just let me know if you do get in touch with him.”

After their coach walked off, the girls walked over to the group. Ali motioned at Ashlyn and Allie to walk away from the group with her. “What’s going on babe?” Questioned the blonde goalkeeper. “The staff can’t get in touch with Richard. Vlatko asked Mal if she could try and she said that she would but I find it weird that no one can get in touch with him,” replied the defender. “That is a little strange,” the other two agreed. “We should call Alex and see if she has found out anything about him,” replied Allie, “Maybe she found a phone number for him.” 

Mal approached the group to let them know that none of her numbers worked and none of their mutual friends knew where he was. They all exchanged looks and then Ashlyn spoke, “Mal, don’t say anything to Sonnett or Lindsey yet about this.” The young forward nodded as she went off to find Rose and Sam. Ali spoke up and said, “I’m going to go outside and call Alex. Maybe her “SWAT team connections” have found something.”

Ali dialed Alex on FaceTime and Alex answered almost immediately. “How is she?! Kelley texted me but I haven’t heard anything recently.” “Slow down Al. We haven’t heard anything yet because they are still running tests.” “Ok. Is Sonny okay?” “She is doing the best she can right now but she is surrounded by people who love her. Right now, I have a very important questions for you,” Ali replied.

“Oh… What’s your question?” “Well, Vlatko let me and Mal know that they tried getting in touch with Richard but he wouldn’t answer when they called.” Alex snorted and muttered, “Big surprise there” “Anyway, Mal tried calling him and couldn’t get in touch with him either. Did you happen to find a phone number for him with your connections?” Ali asked.

“Well…” Alex trailed off, “Yes. Also, I know for a fact that he isn’t in Denver right now.” “What do you mean?” “Well, I saw where he was tagged by some girl in a picture on Instagram at that location. He is in LA. At a casino.” Ali was stunned into silence. Alex continued, “Serva is actually headed there now to check it out and confirm his location.” Ali could only shake her head in disbelief and anger. “Let me know what he finds out and I will update you on Lindsey as soon as I know something.”

Ali walked back inside and over to her friends and wife. Ashlyn opened up her arms as Ali fell into them. “Have you heard anything yet?” Questioned Ali. Just as Christen started to reply a doctor walked around the corner. “Are you guys here for Lindsey Horan?” Vlatko stepped forward and answered affirmatively. The doctor let them know that they had run multiple tests and it seemed like she passed out from dehydration but because of possibly hitting her head they wanted to keep her overnight for observation. “Can we see her?” Sonnett asked. “Yes, you can go in three at a time but make it quick. Also, only one person can stay with her overnight.”

As the doctor walked away Megan looked over at the team and announced that Sonnett, Christen, and Tobin should go first. Everyone agreed and the three made their way to the room where Lindsey was. The closer they got to Lindsey’s room the more Emily’s hands started to shake. Tobin came up beside her and grabbed her hand and squeezed, “She is going to be fine Sonnett. I promise.”

Sonny took a deep breath and opened the door to the room. Lindsey was laying in the bed and looked like she was sleeping. As the trio approached the bed though she lifted her head up and smiled softly, “Hey guys.” Christen leaned down to give her a gentle hug and Tobin leaned down to drop a kiss on Lindsey’s forehead. The midfielder looked behind Tobin too see Emily standing there looking at her like she was both ecstatic and terrified. “Son, come here”

Emily knew in that moment that she would never take for granted the sound of Lindsey’s voice. She hurried over to the bed and gently took Lindsey’s hand in hers. “Linds…” her voice cracked a little as she spoke. “It’s okay Dasani. I’m okay,” Lindsey answered back with a soft smile and a few tears in her eyes.

Christen smiled softly watching the two younger girls and hoped that everything would work out for them. “So Lindsey, there are some other people who would like to see you. Are you okay with that?” The dark haired forward questioned. “Yeah, that’s fine,” answered the blonde. She reluctantly let go of Emily’s hand and glanced up at her friend, “Can you come back after everyone else is done?” “Of course Linds.I was planning on staying tonight if you are okay with that?” “I would love that,” answered Lindsey.

As Christen and Tobin went to let the next group know that they could go in and see her, Emily walked outside to make a phone call. The FaceTime call wasn’t ringing long before a face appeared on the screen. “Emily! How is she doing?” Emily looked at Lindsey’s mom on the phone screen and could see the worry on her face. “She is doing okay. The doc thinks it was just dehydration but they are keeping her overnight just in case.” Linda breathed a sigh o f relief and said, “That’s so good to hear! I wish we could be there. I hate the thought of her being alone.” “Oh no! She won’t be alone,” Emily hurriedly replied, “I’m going to stay with her tonight.” “Oh sweetie that’s so nice! I’m so glad she has you.” The blonde blushed at the older Horan’s words. “It’s no problem. I’m sure she would do the same for me.”

Back inside the hospital, some of the older players were gathered together. Tobin, Christen, Allie, Kelley, and Ashlyn were crowded around Ali who was on the phone with Alex. “They are keeping her overnight for observation,” said the defender, “but they are re pretty sure that it was dehydration.” “That’s good,” Alex answered back, “However, I have some not good news.” All of the group looked to each other and prepared for the worst. “So I had Serva go to the casino where that girl had tagged him at,” the forward started to explain, “So he goes inside and after a few minutes he finds him at the blackjack table. So he starts recording on his phone to see what happens.”

At this point the group is waiting with bated breath to see what happened. Alex continued, “After a few minutes Richard puts down a pretty significant bet. Like a very large amount of money. He goes on to win that hand and celebrates by kissing the girl he is with.” There is a loud gasp that runs through the group. Kelley and Tobin have fire in their eyes and Ashlyn looks murderous.

“So Serv watched them for a little longer and heard him say something about being able to get money off of this stupid bitch and that the only thing she was good for was money and that he was just using the “soccer chick”.” By now Christen is trying her best to hold Tobin back and Ali is holding onto Ashlyn. Allie is literally blocking the doorway to keep Kelley inside the room. “Okay thanks Alex. Send me any video you have from Servando but we have to go corral these three and stop a murder,” Ali said quickly. “I will. Let me know what else happens,”Alex answered back.

By this time Becky and Alyssa have noticed that something was going on with that group so they approached them. “What’s up guys?” Becky questioned. Christen knew that both girls Boulder be trusted and they really needed some calmer heads to help reel in the others so she spoke up, “We may have discovered why Richard wont answer any calls from the team.” She went on to explain what they knew minus anything about Emily’s feelings for Lindsey.

Now that the other two girls knew what was going on they helped to cal, Ashly, Kelley, and Tobin down. “I understand that you guys are pissed off. I am too. We have to go about this calmly though. Also, we do not need to upset Lindsey or Emily for that matter anymore tonight,” Becky said as the voice of reason. Everyone agreed and said that they would regroup in the morning.

After everyone else had left to head back to the hotel for the night, Emily was sitting beside Lindsey’s bed.Lindsey looked over at her best friends , who was actually much more than that she was figuring out, and could see the worry lines on her face. “Em, I promise I’m okay. The doctor says I just got dehydrated.” Emily took a deep breath and squeezed the hand that she hadn’t let go of since sitting down and said, “ I know that Lindsey nut I was so scared. I still remember the game against Seattle last season and I was terrified then watching you lay on the ground. This time though…” Emily’s voice cracked a little, “This time you were in my arms. I was so scared that somehow I was going to lose you. I cant lose you Linds.” “Come here Son,” Lindsey demanded softly. The bed ridden blonde pulled her friends into the bed with her and they snuggled into each other.

The two girls laid together for awhile. Emily thought Lindsey was asleep so she started talking softly. “Lindsey, I feel so much for you. You are the best part of my day but also my worst whenever I have to tell you goodbye. I love you and I’m in love with you. You deserve so much more than I could ever give you but I will spend my life trying to give you everything you deserve and more. I hope one day I can actually tell you these words when you are awake.” As the defender finished her monologue she snuggled even deeper into the love of her ice and tried to get some sleep.

The blonde midfielder wasn’t actually asleep when Sonnett started talking. She almost interrupted her to let her know but decided to listen to what her friend had to say. She was a little surprised at first hearing Emily’s feelings for her but the more she thought about it the more it made sense. Emily always treated her with the utmost respect and showed her love through everyday things. In that moment, Lindsey Michelle Horan realized what love really was. She knew that whatever she felt with Richard wasn’t love. She made a vow to herself right then and there that she was going to break up with him.


	9. Chapter 8

The next morning about half the team left for the airport and the others headed to the hospital. The group that was going to the hospital consisted of Tobin, Christen, Ali, Ashlyn, Alyssa, Becky, Kelley, Allie, Mal, Rose, and Sam. The older players had discussed how to handle the evidence against Richard. It was decided that Tobin, Ali, Becky, and Alex(over FaceTime) would tell Lindsey what Servando found out. The others would keep Emily distracted and get anything Lindsey needed loaded on the vans.

The group arrived at the hospital and the group that was relegated to talk to Lindsey plus Christen went to Lindsey’s room. The others waited for Christen to return with Emily in the waiting room. They figured they could load the girl’s things into the van and then go to the cafeteria to make sure Sonnett ate something. The younger girls could tell that something was going on with the older group but they didn’t know what it was.

In Lindsey’s room Christen was trying to convince Sonnett to come with her but in typical Sonnett fashion, she was being stubborn. Finally, Tobin leaned in to whisper in her ear, “It would be very chivalrous of you to carry Lindsey’s stuff for her.” Emily looked at Tobin for a long moment and asked, “You will stay with her right?” “Of course Sonny. Now go!” Lindsey looked at Tobin suspiciously as Christen and Emily took Lindsey’s stuff downstairs and asked, “Toby… What’s going on?” Tobin turned to look at her friend and said, “Ok Lindsey. We need to talk.”

Tobin took a deep breath and sat down. Ali and Becky also sat down next to the bed. Tobin started talking, “So last night after you passed out the coaches were trying to call your emergency contacts. They got in touch with your parents but when they tried calling Richard he didn’t answer. Even Mal tried to get in touch with him.” Lindsey was sitting quietly listening to her longtime teammate. “So, please don’t get mad at this next part,” Tobin pleaded, “Some of us older players have been concerned about your relationship with him for awhile now. Since she isn’t training or playing right now we asked Alex to look into his background and what he is involved in since she was one of the ones who was worried.

At this point, Lindsey is taking deep breaths and trying not to lose her temper. She was a little mad at the team for going behind her back but she was more upset with herself because she hadn’t seen the warning signs but everyone else apparently had. How had she been so blind? “Ok Tobin. I’m a little pissed about you going behind my back but I’m thankful you care. I’m assuming that there is more to the story.”

‘Yeah there is. Let me FaceTime Alex so she can explain more,” said Tobin. Alex picked up after a few rings. “Hey Tobs!” “Hey Alex… So we are talking to Lindsey right now and thought you could tell her about what you found out last night.” “Yeah, sure I can do that,” Alex replied. Tobin turned the phone around so Alex could see Lindsey.

“Hey Linds,” Alex said softly, “How are you feeling?” “Hey Alex. I’m okay right now. Just kind of confused as to what is going on,” the blonde answered. “Okay so…” Alex started, “The team as a whole always thought that Richard wasn’t good enough for you. There was just something that didn’t seem right so the vets just decided to be more aware around him and watch out for you. So last night the staff tried getting in touch with him to let him know you were okay but no one could get in touch with him. I happened to be on Instagram and saw where someone had tagged him in a video. So I clicked on it and it was at a casino here in LA.” At this revelation Lindsey gasped. Tobin came over and hugged Lindsey’s shoulders a little tighter as Lindsey motioned for Alex to continue.

The brunette ticked up her story, “So I asked Servando if he would mind checking it out. Serva went to the casino and saw him at the blackjack table. Since he wasn’t sure what would happen he decided to record it. Would you like to see the video?” “Honestly, I probably already know what I’m going to find out…” Lindsey trailed off. The older players looked at her with questioning glances, “Richard has a gambling problem so I’m assuming he got into trouble with that. Knowing him, he probably had another girl with him.”

The blonde was met with stunned silence. She looked at her teammates and could tell that they were a little shocked by her words. “If you want to see the videos for yourself, I have them,” Ali spoke up softly. Lindsey nodded her head as Ali pulled up the footage on her phone and handed it to Lindsey. The blonde watched her soon to be ex boyfriend gamble away (what she would soon find out was partly her money) and kiss other girls. She felt many things but sadness wasn’t really one of them. She felt ashamed that she had stayed with him so long. She was a little sad but was more so mad. She was so angry with him and at herself for not seeing what was really happening.

The older girls watched as tears welled up in the younger girl’s eyes. Tobin and Ali both patted her on the shoulders and Becky came over and sat at the foot of her bed. After a few minutes Ali took the phone from Lindsey to tell Alex bye and that she would keep her updated. Becky followed Ali out of the room to go check on the rest of the team. Tobin stayed with Lindsey and held her until the blonde dried her eyes.

“Linds,” the forward spoke softly, “If you knew all this about him, why did you stay? I could have helped you if you needed me.” The midfielder looked at her friend and smiled softly, “I know Tobs. I just didn’t realize how bad it was.” “Lindsey, look at me,” the older girl said sternly, “You are worth way more than the way he treated you. You deserve to be treated like a queen. You are so loved.” “I know Tobin. I really do,” the blonde smiled a little at her friend, “I have come to realize lately that I deserve more.” “That’s good Linds,” the lanky brunette smiled, “I’m glad you realize that. Anything in particular make you come to that conclusion?” Lindsey bit her lip and muttered, “More like someone …” At Lindsey’s words Tobin snapped her head around, “Lindsey say what?!” The younger girl spoke softly under her breath, “Sonnett… I think I like Sonnett. In fact I know I like Sonnett. I have treated her badly at times and let Richard treat her badly but she is still there for me. She treats me like I’m the most precious thing in her world.” Tobin was a little stunned by Lindsey’s answer. Lindsey continued, “I really want to see where things go with her but everything is still so crazy right now. She got traded across the country and I still have to break up with the jackass.” Tobin nodded and replied, “That is a lot to deal with. Just take it slow. Don’t rush things. If it’s meant to be then it will happen. I don’t want to see either of you get hurt.”

After a few minutes they heard footsteps approaching the room. Emily popped her head in the door, “Can I come in?” “Sure Sonny. I’m glad you are here. You can stay with Lindsey while I go try to find out how much longer she has to be here.” “Thanks Tobs,” Lindsey called from the bed. Emily walked towards the bed and sat down beside the blonde and looked at her carefully.

“Are you okay Linds?” The midfielder looked over at her best friend who was looking at her with concern written all over her face. “Yeah… I guess,” Lindsey took a deep breath and continued, “Richard and I are over. Apparently, he was too busy cheating on me last night to answer his phone when the coaches called him.” After hearing what Lindsey told her, it took everything in Emily too not lose it and track jerk face down. She balled her fists and closed her eyes and began taking deep breaths.

After Sonnett had calmed herself she looked at her best friend and said, “I’m sorry that he hurt you Lindsey. I’m sorry you are having to go through this but I’m not sorry that he will finally be gone. You deserve so much more than he ever gave you.” Lindsey could feel herself tearing up as she listened to Emily’s words. “I’m okay Em. Honestly, this has been coming for awhile but this was the final straw.” “Well, just so you know if I ever see him again, I’m punching him in the face,” Emily replied. The blonde midfielder laughed lightly and hugged the defender. While they waited on Tobin, Lindsey filled Sonny in on how she found out about Richard and what all had happened.

Tobin had come back not long after and told Lindsey she was free to go. The three girls walked downstairs to meet the others in the parking lot. They saw their teammates gathered near the team vans and approached them. Christen was the first to notice and turned towards them, “Hey girls!” Everyone else turned to see the trio walking to the group. Rose, Mal, Sam, and Kelley were the first to hurry over to Lindsey.

“I’m so glad you’re okay”, “Thank God!”, and “Don’t ever scare me like that again” were the cries heard from the girls as they hugged the blonde midfielder. Kelley slid up next to Sonnett, “You good?” Emily replied with a side to side shake of her head as if to say Yes and no. Kelley wondered if Lindsey had filled her in on the Richard stuff. She started to try and push the issue when they heard a voice coming towards them.

“There you are! I got news that you were hurt and I come to the hospital to find you hanging out and partying in the parking lot.” Emily stiffened as she heard the voice come closer. Lindsey turned to see her ex boyfriend walking to their group with an annoyed look on his face.

“You’re lucky I’m even in town. I flew in early this morning for a business meeting. I didn’t get the texts or calls last night because I went to bed early since I had an early flight.”

Tobin and Ashlyn both scoffed loudly as he said those words. Kelley could feel Emily getting more tense by the second. Allie had FaceTimed Alex and told her to just listen and watch. Lindsey just stood there in shock wondering how he thought he would get away with those lies. She knew though that he had fed her those same lies before and she believed them.

“Well…” he asked pretentiously, “Are you going to explain yourself?” Lindsey just shook her head and walked closer, “I don’t have to explain anything to you. You, however, have some explaining to do. If you really didn’t fly in until this morning, how come I have video of you with your tongue down some other girl’s throat? How come I got a notification of MY credit card being used at the hotel next to the casino?”

By now, Richard had paled considerably and the entire group was watching with bated breath. Rose and Sam were surely going to catch flies in their wide open mouths. Kelley had tightened her grip on Sonny’s arm as she was visibly becoming more angry. Lindsey then continued, “Don’t worry about feeding me any bullshit excuses. I wont believe them. We are over.You can wait to hear from my lawyer about using my credit card without my permission.

“Yeah right,” Richard laughed, “You will come crawling back. No one else will take you. No one else will want you. You need me Lindsey!” The blonde turned to look at him and smiled sadly, “At one point, that probably would have been true. However, I have been shown how I should be treated recently and I refuse to settle for you. Goodbye Richie.”

As Lindsey turned to walk away, he reached out and grabbed her by the shirt collar and jerked her backwards and caused her to gasp in pain. Multiple things then happened at once: Becky called the police, Ali grabbed Ashlyn, Christen grabbed Tobin and Kelley couldn’t grab Emily fast enough. The blonde defender rushed to Lindsey and gently pushed her towards Kelley’s arms and then swung her fist around to connect solidly with Richard’s nose. He stumbled to the ground and Emily straddled him and landed more blows to his face.

Ashlyn and Alyssa came over and physically picked the defender up off of him and gave her to Kelley and Tobin to hold on to. Ashlyn grabbed him roughly by the back of the neck and walked him away with Alyssa’s help. Emily turned to find Lindsey, “ Are you okay? Should we take you back inside to get checked out?” I’m okay Son, I promise.”

The police pulled up and collected statements from everyone and watched the video of the encounter and led Richard off to a squad car. One of the officers gave Lindsey his card along with the number for a detective in the financial crimes unit to report the credit card fraud. As the officers walked away, Sonnett turned to face the group, “Alright, who yelled Fuck Yeah! When I hit him? I heard someone say it.” Mal, Rose, Ashlyn, Tobin, and surprisingly Christen raised their hands. The defender laughed lightly at their friends. Lindsey leaned in and pressed a kiss to her friend’s cheek, “My hero,” she said softly as Sonny blushed bright red at her words.

“OH…. MY…… GOD…..” said a shocked voice. Everyone turned to find Sam with her classic “Panic Petunia” face on. Rose laughed and said, “I guess Sammy finally processed what happened.”


	10. Chapter 9

Lindsey pulled her keys out to open her door. She was followed inside by Emily, Tobin, and Christen. Tobin had driven them home from the airport and Christen insisted on making sure Emily and Lindsey got into the apartment safely. Lindsey knew that Christen could be a little bit of a mother hen so she let her take care of her. Tobin and Emily went back downstairs to get the rest of the luggage from the car.

“Dude, that was so awesome when you punched him earlier. Thank you for always being there for Lindsey,” the lanky brunette said.

“It felt amazing! You don’t have to thank me for being there for her. I always will be,” replied Emily.

“I know. That’s one reason I’m really rooting for you guys.”

“Thanks Tobin.”

“Be patient Em,” said Tobin softly, “She is starting to come around I think but she just broke up with him.” Emily nodded her head because the thought had already crossed her mind.

The two girls took the rest of the luggage upstairs and Tobin and Christen left shortly after but not before Christen made them promise to call if something came up. The older players had really wanted someone to stay with Lindsey tonight after everything that had happened that day. Naturally, Emily had volunteered.

“Linds, are you sure you want me to stay? I can leave if you want some time to yourself.”

“No Em,” the blonde laid her hand on her friend’s arm, “I want you here. I feel safe with you here.”

Emily opened her arms and Lindsey walked into them. They stood there holding each other for a while before Sonnett led them to the couch to sit down.

“I could stay here with you forever Son,” Lindsey mumbled sleepily.

“Me too Linds, me too. Now come on, let’s get changed and get in bed.”

The midfielder let her friend lead her down the hallway to her bedroom. While Lindsey grabbed her bed clothes and went to the bathroom to change Emily grabbed some clothes for herself and got dressed. She went to the kitchen and grabbed two bottles of water knowing that Lindsey would want one when she woke up in the morning. When she went back to the bedroom she found Lindsey waiting for her in bed. After brushing her teeth, Emily climbed in bed and pulled the covers up over both of them.

“Goodnight Linds.”

“Goodnight Em,” Lindsey said tiredly as she rolled towards Sonnett to cuddle with her.

The next morning Emily woke up to find Lindsey snuggled into her side and her face buried in her neck. The defender lay there soaking in the feeling of Lindsey in her arms and thinking about everything that had happened the past few weeks. The trade, confessing her feelings for Lindsey to the others, the games, Lindsey getting hurt and everything that followed that. She couldn’t believe that jerk had the nerve to show up at the hospital and say those things to Lindsey. It had felt so good to finally get to knock his ass to the ground. She had imagined doing it often but it felt better than she could have imagined.

Lindsey started to stir a little bit as Sonny moved to get out of bed but settled as Emily moved her pillow to take her place. She went on the bathroom and then headed to the kitchen to make breakfast. She figured she would make avocado toast since it was a favorite of their’s. Once she got everything cooked, she put the food on a tray and went back to the bedroom. She sat the tray on the bedside table while she woke Lindsey.

“Hey Linds,” Sonny whispered softly, “I made breakfast for us.”

The blonde in the bed lifted her head at Emily’s words.

“Sonny… You didn’t have to do that.”

“I know but I wanted to. Now sit up so we can eat”

The two girls soaked up their time together eating one of their favorite foods.

“So Son, I gotta tell you. You punching Richard yesterday was kinda hot,” Lindsey smirked. Emily could feel her cheeks getting hot.

“It was no problem Linds. I had been wanting to do it for awhile.” The girls conversed more while they ate before heading to the kitchen to clean up.

After cleaning up Lindsey told Emily she was going to get a shower before they headed to Emily’s apartment. The defender had mentioned earlier that she needed to start packing up her things. Lindsey had sadly agreed and offered to help. While Lindsey headed off to the bathroom, Emily tried very hard not to imagine what she would look like standing under the shower head with the water droplets running down her body. Emily shook her head to clear those thoughts from her mind and started looking for places to pick up moving boxes from on the way to her apartment.

The girls walked into Emily’s apartment and Emily took her luggage to her room while Lindsey sat down the pack of moving boxes they had picked up. After Emily had started her clothes in the wash she came to sit beside Lindsey on the couch. Lindsey laid her head on Emily’s shoulder and sighed deeply.

“Linds,” Emily whispered shakily, “I don’t want to go to Orlando. I’m not ready to leave here. I’m not ready to leave you.”

Lindsey lifted her head to look at her best friend and found tears in her eyes. She wrapped her arms around Emily and pulled her close. “Oh Em,” she said with tears in her own arms, “I know. I’m not ready for you to leave me either. We have this time though. How about after we get your apartment packed up we drive cross country together?”

“That sounds like a great idea Linessi,” smiled Emily softly.

Over the next week, the girls spent every waking moment together while packing up the defender’s apartment. They spent their days packing and their nights ordering takeout from their favorite places. While packing, there were several times that they would find things that brought up memories for them. There were jerseys, posters, knick knacks, and pictures. There were so many pictures. There was the picture from the first time they got coffee together at NorthWest. Emily could remember sitting across the table from Lindsey and even then she knew that she was something special.

Then there was the picture she had taken of Lindsey walking down the beach at Manzanita. She was entranced watching Lindsey look so carefree holding her shoes in her hand as she strolled across the sand with the wind blowing in her hair. That was one of the first times Emily could remember being almost knocked off her feet by Lindsey’s beauty. Those memories would always be something that Emily held close to her heart.

Then there was the picture from Hawaii. The picture of them sitting side by side on the cliff together. Lindsey and Richard had broken up for a period of time and they along with Caitlin and Ellie had decided to go to Hawaii. Sitting there on the cliffs together Emily had almost admitted her feelings to Lindsey. She was so close to forcing the words out but she couldn’t force out the words. She was terrified of losing Lindsey in her life and would have rather kept her as a friend than as nothing.

By the start of the next week, the girls had packed everything up except for what Sonny was taking in her car with her on the trip. The plan was for the girls to be in Orlando by the next week and meet the movers at Sonnett’s new loft apartment. Tobin and Christen would come over to let the movers in to get the defender’s stuff and load it up.

After looking at the different routes, they had decided to make some different stops along the way and just enjoy their time together. They planned to stop in LA and stay with Alex and Servando, maybe stopping in Texas and New Orleans, and maybe a few other stops. Both girls were super excited to be able to spend time together but they were both nervous as well. Neither one had said anything to the other about the nervousness but it was definitely there.

Lindsey’s feelings had grown exponentially over the course of the past week but she didn’t want to admit them yet. She wanted some time to herself before getting into another relationship. She knew the depth of her feelings for Emily and she didn’t want to ruin anything by rushing into things. She was also nervous that Emily wouldn’t return her feelings. She knew she was being a little crazy because there was no way that Emily would ever desert her even if she didn’t return those feelings.

Emily on the other hand was nervous too. She knew that her feelings for Lindsey had only gotten stronger. She was terrified that one day she would just blurt out the words, “I love you!” She knew that she needed to wait to reveal her feelings though. She didn’t want to rush Lindsey after she just got out of a relationship. She had waited this long so she could wait a little longer.

“Hey Linds, Are you ready to go?” Questioned Emily.

“Yeah, I guess so,” answered Lindsey.

Emily looked around her apartment and took in the room one last time. There were so many memories in this apartment. The first time Lindsey stayed over, the first time they fell asleep on the couch together watching Netflix. She would always cherish those memories but she knew that she had to move forward. Things would eventually get better with time.

The girls left the apartment and loaded their stuff into Emily’s car and headed to Tobin’s apartment to drop the key off for the movers. At Tobin’s apartment they were met with hugs from Tobin and Christen with Tobin giving Sonny an extra long hug. While Tobin was clinging to Emily, Christen was fussing over the two girls, “Do you guys have everything you need?” “How often are you guys stopping?” “Please be careful!”

“Chris, calm down. They are big girls and take care of themselves,” Tobin tried to calm her fiancé.

“I know but I worry about them,” Christen pouted.

Both girls made sure to hug Christen extra tight to try to reassure her that they would be fine and Emily thanked them both again for helping her out with the movers. After saying their goodbyes, the girls loaded up into Emily’s car. After buckling her seatbelt Sonnett put on one of her Spotify playlists and looked over at Lindsey, “Are you ready?”

“Im ready,” confirmed the blonde midfielder as she reached over and grabbed Sonny’s hand.

After driving for about 8 hours they arrived at Alex and Servando’s house. Alex met them in the driveway with Servando right behind her. “Hey girlies! Let Serva grab your bags and you guys come on inside.” Both girls thanked Servando as he passed by them to go to the trunk of the car to get their bags.

After settling in, everyone had gathered in the living room. “So I was thinking we could just order some pizza or some Chinese food to make things easy,” Alex said. Everyone agreed that it sounded like an awesome idea and decided on a Chinese place close by.

“Thanks again Alex for letting us stay with you guys,” Emily spoke up.

“Anything for my new teammate!” Alex replied with a grin.

“Well, while we are saying thank you, I just wanted to say thank you to you two for uncovering all the stuff with Richard,” Lindsey said gratefully.

“It’s no problem,” the couple replied.

“I wanted to punch him but I heard someone else got that honor,” Servando replied while glancing at Emily.

Emily blushed as Lindsey shot her a grin and replied, “Yeah, Emily got him good.”

The conversation then turned to the baby, “Will you please tell me her name?” Emily pleaded with Alex.

“Nope! You will have to wait just like everyone else,” Alex laughed, “But if you want to mess with Kelley then you can tell her that I told you.”

Emily grinned at the thought of messing with her freckled friend, “Yeah, I might just do that.”

The girls woke up early the next morning at headed towards their next stop, El Paso, Texas. They had decided to take turns driving and Lindsey had volunteered to drive first. As she merged on to I-10 East, Emily grabbed the phone and opened up her Spotify. She decided to play her NASCAR playlist, “Ugh,” groaned Lindsey, “Are we going to have to listen to country the whole time?”

Emily just laughed, “Not the whole time.”

In all honesty, Emily had made this playlist with Lindsey in mind so it was definitely one of her favorite playlists.

After they had been driving for awhile, the girls decided to stop for a late lunch in Phoenix. After eating lunch, Emily took over driving for Lindsey. They were planning to stay at The Plaza Hotel in Pioneer Park. It was in downtown El Paso and the interior looked really cool. Emily was really glad that she had this time with Lindsey. She could only hope that one day this would be a normal thing. Riding in the car and holding Lindsey’s hand while listening to music. She could only hope that it would happen one day.

When they arrived at the hotel, Emily went to the front desk to check in. She walked back towards Lindsey with an uncertain look in her face. “Sooo…” Emily trailed off, “They messed up the room I had booked with two beds and we just have the one bed now.”

Lindsey took in the nervousness on Emily’s face and felt her heart melt a little. She couldn’t believe that this caring, adorable dork may actually like her. “It’s okay Em,” Lindsey said trying to ease her friend’s worries, “We have shared a bed before so its no big deal. In fact, any other hotels we stop at along the way can be one bed if you are okay with that.”

“On one hand,” Emily thought to herself, “I would love to share a bed with you but on the other hand, I feel like it could be dangerous.” On the outside though, she just nodded her head in agreement with Lindsey’s suggestion. That night as the girls were cuddled together in bed they were both thinking the same thing, “I could get used to this.”

The next morning the girls headed out for the next leg of their trip. They were headed to New Orleans and they planned to spend a few days there. Both were excited to be going to NOLA and possibly have some fun. They planned to go to Café Du Monde for coffee and beignets for sure. Lindsey thought that maybe it would be a good time to maybe talk to Emily about her feelings and the future. Even though Lindsey didn’t want to rush, she also couldn’t hold back her feelings much longer.

When the girls arrived at the Ritz- Carlton in the French Quarter they were exhausted. They decided to just order in some food to the hotel and have a chill night of watching Netflix. They decided to order in pizza and now were sharing one of the beds while trying to decide what to watch. They ended up watching Grey’s Anatomy even though they had both seen pretty much every episode already. It was one of Lindsey’s favorite shows and there was no way that Emily could tell her no. After finishing their food, the girls threw the trash away and snuggled together in bed again. As Lindsey laid there in Emily’s arms she knew that she should have a talk with Emily about her feelings. She was also feeling a little guilty for hearing what Emily told her in the hospital when she thought Lindsey was asleep.

“Hey Em,” Lindsey said nervously.

“Yeah Linds? What’s wrong? You seem nervous,” questioned Emily worriedly.

“I need to tell you something. It’s kind of long so will you let me finish before you say anything?”

“Of course I will. Or I will try my best anyway,” replied Emily giving Lindsey her full attention.

Lindsey took a deep breath and started, “First, I need to say thank you. Thank you for always being there for me and never leaving me even when you had every right to do so.” Emily started to interrupt but Lindsey silenced her with a pleading look. “There were many times that I treated you badly or took advantage of our friendship when I was with Richard. I let him manipulate me into thinking a certain way or believing things that weren’t true. He made me feel like no one but him would ever want me.”

Lindsey had to stop for a minute and compose herself. She could feel the tears starting to leak out of the corners of her eyes. “I know you said not to interrupt you but I just have to tell you that it’s not true,” said Emily as she wiped some of the tears from Lindsey’s eyes.

Lindsey smiled gently at her and then continued, “Because of this, I never really saw what I was actually worthy of until I was shown by someone. This person has shown me what it’s like to be loved unconditionally. No matter what this person has always been there.”

Emily could feel her heart sinking a little as Lindsey described this person. Had she waited too long? Could someone else have stolen Lindsey’s heart right out from under her nose? Lindsey saw the sad look come across Emily’s face and rested her hand on her cheek and said, “It’s you Emily. You have shown me my worth. You have shown me what it’s like to actually have someone love you. I heard what you said in the hospital when you thought I was asleep…”

Emily’s eyes widened and she lifted her head a little more to look at Lindsey as she continued to talk. “I heard what you said and I just want you to know that you are the greatest thing to happen to me as well. I have very strong feelings for you. I know I just got out of a relationship so maybe we can take things slow but I really like you Em and I want to be with you and-“ Lindsey was cut off abruptly as Emily pressed her lips against Lindsey’s in a passionate kiss.

Lindsey was caught off guard by Sonny’s sudden move but she fell into the kiss with just as much passion. She ran her hands through the defender’s hair and pulled her closer. After a little longer they broke apart and Emily looked down at Lindsey, “I never thought this day would come. I never thought that you could feel the same way about me that I feel about you.”

“Well believe it Em,” Lindsey smiled, “I’m sorry it took me so long to get here but I just want you to know that you are the best thing that’s ever been mine.”

The girls laid together cuddling and sharing sweet kisses before falling asleep tangled together underneath the sheets. They would have a lot to talk about in the morning but for now they were content to be in each other’s arms for the night and they would discuss specifics tomorrow.


	11. Chapter 10

The next morning when Emily woke up with Lindsey wrapped around her it took her a minute to remember everything that had happened last night. “Wow,” she exclaimed under her breath. She couldn’t believe that Lindsey felt the same way and actually liked her back. It felt so nice to be laying here with the blonde in her arms. As she lay there, thinking about how blessed she was Lindsey started to stir. Emily loved the way that Lindsey’s nose would scrunch up as she started to wake up. She loved the relaxation that showed on Lindsey’s face as she was sleeping and nothing could bother her. She really loved watching Lindsey’s eyes pop open though to see her favorite eyes staring back at her.

Lindsey felt so safe and warm that she almost didn’t want to wake up. Then realized that she was snuggled into Sonny’s neck and the memories from the night before came flooding back. She was so happy that they both felt the same way about each other. She still wanted to take it slow but she couldn’t hold her feelings in any longer.

“Good morning,” she heard Emily whisper.

She picked her head up to look at her favorite blonde and greeted her back, “Good Morning Em.” She leaned up to give the defender a kiss and Emily pulled back and said, “Sorry, I have morning breath,” before pressing a gentle kiss to Lindsey’s forehead.

“What are our plans today?” Lindsey questioned.

“Well, I thought we could go to breakfast together at Café Du Monde and maybe do some sightseeing.”

“That sounds great!” Lindsey exclaimed excitedly.

The girls got up and showered and dressed before walking out of the hotel and heading towards the café. After they had ordered and picked out a table to sit at Emily reached over to grab Lindsey’s hand. “Is this okay?”

“Of course Em! I always want to hold your hand. We should talk about us though,” said Lindsey.

“Okay,” Emily agreed before continuing, “What about us? Is there an us?”

“I would definitely like for there to be an us,” Lindsey confirmed before continuing, “I want to take things slow though. You are too important to me to rush this and mess things up.”

Emily nodded her head in agreement. “So we will take things slow then. Can we still kiss and hold hands though?”

“Absolutely!” Lindsey wasn’t sure that she could ever stop herself from kissing Emily now that she had done it. Emily was like a drug to her. “Maybe we just keep this to ourselves for now and see what happens before we involve everyone else.”

“That sounds like a great idea!” Emily agreed.

The girls walked all around the French Quarter and even made their way down to Lincoln Beach. As they sat on the sand together they held each other’s hand. “Thank you for today,” Lindsey said softly, “It was one of the best days I have had in a while.”

“You’re welcome Linds. You deserve to be treated like this and I will do whatever is in my power to make it happen,” Emily replied as she kissed Lindsey’s cheek.

Lindsey turned her head to meet Emily’s lips and kissed her. They kept kissing for a little bit before Emily pulled away and said, “Maybe we should go back to the hotel?” Lindsey agreed and they held hands and traded sweet kisses as they walked to their destination. They went to bed that night, once again, tangled together and enjoying every moment of it. They knew that the future was uncertain but they knew that they would face it together.

The next morning they started on the last leg of their trip. They would be arriving in Orlando today but staying in a hotel until Emily’s stuff arrived at the apartment. They planned to have dinner with Ali and Ashlyn at some point as well. Emily wanted to stop in Tallahassee on the way because she wanted to eat at a restaurant she had eaten at in college when they were in town playing FSU. She swore that they had the best pancakes so they were leaving New Orleans early and eating a late breakfast in Tallahassee.

Lindsey had to admit that maybe Emily was right. These pancakes were amazing! They had a lot of creative flavors and the original flavors. The pancakes were nice and fluffy as well.

“Didn’t I tell you they were good?”

Lindsey looked up to find Emily grinning at her awaiting an answer. “Yes Son, you did. And you were right. They are really good!” Emily just smiled at her before leaning over to give her a kiss on the corner of her mouth.

“You had some chocolate right there,” Emily smirked.

“You could have just told me and I would have wiped my mouth off.”

“Where is the fun in that?”

Lindsey could only shake her head and laugh at her adorable friend… girlfriend… Lindsey wasn’t completely sure what they were. They would have to talk about it at some point later but for now she was content to just spend time with Emily.

As they veered off of I-10E to I-75S Emily’’s phone rang through the car’s Bluetooth system. “Incoming call from Ali Krieger,” Lindsey said aloud. Emily pressed the pickup button to answer and Krieger’s voice filled the car.

“Hey Emily! Hey Lindsey!”

“Hey Ali,” both girls answered back.

“Where are you guys? I thought if you weren’t too far away then maybe you would like to come over for dinner tonight?”

Emily looked at Lindsey as if to ask her if that was okay and Lindsey nodded. “Yeah Ali, that sounds great! We just passed the I-10 split so we are about 3 hours away.”

“That’s good! I will send you the address and the code for the gate. How do burgers sound? Ash has been dying to use the new grill.”

Both girls laughed and Lindsey replied, “Burgers sound good Ali. Thank you for inviting us over.”

“It’s no problem at all! We will see you guys around 5:30.”

After Ali hung up, Emily looked over to Lindsey, “Thank you for doing this with me.” Lindsey looked over at Emily and smiled.

“You don’t have to thank me Em. I would go anywhere with you.” Emily brought their entwined hands to her lips and pressed a kiss to the back of Lindsey’s hand.

The girls arrived at the hotel around 4 and got checked in. After taking their luggage up to their room they fell down on the bed together and just enjoyed laying in each other’s arms. After laying in silence for awhile Emily spoke up, “I guess tonight will be our first test to see how we handle ourselves around others.”

“That’s true,” Lindsey agreed, “We can handle it but it’s going to be hard not to kiss you anytime I want to.l

“Well I guess we better take advantage of our time now,” Emily grinned as she leaned over to press her lips to Lindsey’s.

The girls pulled up outside of Ali and Ashlyn’s house right on time. They were almost late after losing track of time during their makeout session. “You ready?” Emily asked Lindsey.

“I am if you are,” answered Lindsey while squeezing Emily’s hand.

They exited the car as Ali opened the door and called to them, “Hey! I’m so glad you guys are here.” She gave them both a hug as she led them into the house. “Ashlyn is out back with the grill and the dogs and I was finishing the salad for dinner.”

“I’m going to go say hey to Ash and see if I can help her,” Emily spoke up.

“I will stay and help Ali,” responded Lindsey as she smiled at Emily. The defender shot her a grin (that she thought went unnoticed) and walked toward the back door.

Ali and Lindsey were in the kitchen chopping vegetables when Lindsey noticed Ali staring at her with a questioning look on her face. “What’s up Ali?”

Ali managed to look a little abashed but asked the question she wanted to ask anyway. “What was that look that Sonny gave you before she went out back?”

Lindsey froze for a half second before answering, “What look? There was no look.” Lindsey kept her eyes down on the tomato she was chopping. She could feel Ali’s eyes still on her but she just kept chopping. Finally, she heard Ali sigh and take the bowl of salad to the table. Lindsey took a deep breath to center herself. Should she tell Ali? It would be nice to have someone to talk to and for it to be someone in Orlando who could watch out for Emily. She would definitely give it some thought.

“Dinner is served!” Ashlyn’s loud voice rang through the house as her and Emily brought in the burgers and hotdogs. Ali laughed when she saw the hotdogs on the tray because Ashlyn had wrapped them in foil like you would find at a ballpark. Ashlyn definitely knew what Ali liked. Emily and Lindsey watched the exchange and couldn’t help but grin at the cuteness displayed by the older girls.

All of the girls sat down to eat together and the conversation turned to their cross country trip. “So how was the trip?” Ashlyn asked.

“It was good,” Emily started, “We stopped the first time near LA and stayed with Alex and Servando.” Ali already knew this because Alex had called and told her that she thought Sonny and Lindsey might be together so Ali was watching both girls closely as they interacted with each other throughout the night. “El Paso was our next stop,” the blonde defender continued, “It was really cool. The hotel we stayed at was like historical, so the décor and area was really cool.”

Then Lindsey spoke up, “Next stop was New Orleans. We stayed there for two days to explore and just take a break from all the driving. It was definitely my favorite stop of the trip.” She couldn’t help but sneak a glance at Emily when she said this and wasn’t surprised to find Emily looking back at her with a mega watt smile on her face.

Of course this sequence of events didn’t go unnoticed by a certain brunette defender. She was now wondering exactly what the hell had happened in New Orleans. They way Lindsey was blushing a little and Emily was beaming told her that it was something major. She filed this information back for later and continued to watch the girls interactions.

“What all did you do in New Orleans to make it your favorite?” Ashlyn asked.

“We went to Café Du Monde!” Emily said excitedly.

“It was really good,” Lindsey agreed before continuing, “We also went exploring around the French Quarter and walked on the beach.”

“Anything else?” Ali asked.

Lindsey could tell that Ali was hinting at something else and was probably onto her and Sonnett. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad for Ali to know. Of course, if Ali knew then Ashlyn would probably find out as well. Not that it would be a bad thing but Lindsey wasn’t sure how many people she wanted to know right now. Part of her was still afraid that it was too good to be true and that Emily would realize she could do better. Emily noticed the look on Lindsey’s face and shot her a worried look. She desperately wanted to ask her if she was okay.

Ali was once again noticing this going on and decided to give the girls a minute. “Hey Ash, can you help me with clearing the table and getting dessert.”

“Sure babe!” The blonde keeper got up from her seat and started helping her wife. When they entered the kitchen Ashlyn looked at Ali expectantly, “So are you going to tell me what the hell is going on between those two?”

“I’m not entirely sure Ash. I think something happened in New Orleans but I don’t know what. I think we should lay off and just see if they say anything.”

“I agree. Let’s give them a few minutes before we go back in there.”

Meanwhile, Emily had grabbed Lindsey’s hand as soon as the older couple had vacated the room. “Hey Linds, Are you okay?”

Lindsey looked up at Emily’s concerned face. There was no doubting the love that was shown there. “Yeah. Just feeling kind of overwhelmed. I feel like Ali can see right through us and knows what is going on. Not that it is a bad thing. Part of me wants to tell Ali so that someone knows when I have to leave you to go back to Portland. There is just a small part of me that still thinks that this is too good to be true. I know how you feel about me but I still have self- esteem issues and second guess things and-“ Lindsey’s words were cut off by Emily pressing her lips to her’s.

After a few minutes, Emily broke apart and lifted Lindsey’s face to look at her, “Lindsey Michelle Horan, there are not enough words in the universe to describe my love for you. I know that you have been treated badly in the past but I will do everything I can to show you how you should be loved. No matter how long it takes. I will be here for you no matter what.”

By this point Lindsey is almost in tears and doesn’t know what else to do other than to grab Emily in a hug and bury her face in the defender’s neck. Emily softly stroked the midfielder’s hair as she whispered words of comfort into her ear. Lindsey pulled back and pressed a kiss to Emily’s lips before saying, “Let’s tell Ali and Ashlyn. I trust them and they probably know better than anyone what it’s like to date as teammates and coming out. Maybe they can help us.”

“Are you sure?” Emily questioned making sure that Lindsey really wanted to do this.

“I’m sure.”

Back in the kitchen, the older couple was shocked by what they had seen. They had just so happened to walk in to see Emily grab Lindsey in a passionate kiss. They had quickly backtracked to the kitchen to discuss their next move. Both of the older girls were insanely happy for the younger couple. They just weren’t sure how to proceed since it seems like the girls weren’t ready to tell anyone yet. They finally decided to just play it by ear and not mention anything. Emily and Lindsey would tell them when they were ready.

Ali sat the apple crisp on the table as Ashlyn brought in the small plates for their dessert. They both sat down and noticed that Emily and Lindsey were holding hands and looking at them nervously. The blonde defender was the first one to speak up. “So we have something to tell you.”

The defender glanced at Lindsey before continuing, “Lindsey and I are together. We wanted to tell you guys so that maybe you could help us if we ever need it.”

“We know that you guys dated and did long distance and were teammates so we thought that you may have some good advice for us. Plus, I needed to make sure someone would know and take care of Sonny when I have to be in Portland.”

As much as Ali wanted to say “I knew it!” She knew that she needed to tread lightly. It was obvious to tell that both girls but especially Lindsey were nervous about telling them. So instead she smiled in their direction and said, “That’s awesome you two! I’m so happy for you both.”

“Hell yeah!” Ashlyn confirmed loudly. “We are so happy for y’all. We will help you out anyway we possibly can.”

“So how did it happen?” Ali asked excitedly.

So Lindsey started telling the story of how they ended up together. When she got to the part about Emily telling her she loved her while she thought Lindsey was asleep, the blonde defender blushed and the two older girls awwwed. The midfielder then continued, “Finally I just couldn’t keep it in anymore and told her that I liked her back. Then she kissed me. The next day we explored New Orleans together and talked some more. We were planning on keeping it to ourselves until we knew how everything was going to work out. However, we underestimated how hard it would be to not act like a couple apparently.”

Ashlyn laughed at the last comment, “You already acted like a couple most of the time anyway. I don’t think anyone will notice unless you decide to lay a big one on Sonny in the middle of camp or something.” Ali was nodding her head in agreement with Ashlyn’s words.

“You guys were already so coupley anyway that I don’t think it will make a difference. However, I completely get why you want to keep it on the down low. We wont say anything to anybody unless you want us to.”

The younger girls thanked them and followed them into the living room where a soccer game was on the tv. Ali and Ashlyn’s dog, Storm, immediately flopped down on Lindsey’s lap and Lindsey spent the rest of the evening scratching the dog. Emily noticed this and thought to herself that maybe she should get Lindsey a dog. The younger girls left after a little bit longer and headed back to the hotel. Once there, they completed their night time routines and crawled in bed together and fell asleep soon after.

The next morning, Lindsey woke up before Emily and laid there watching the defender sleep. She looked so peaceful when she was sleeping. Lindsey was able to see all of the freckles littering Sonnett’s face. Lindsey counted herself lucky to have a beautiful girlfriend like Emily Ann Sonnett. The midfielder decided to wake Emily up with kisses. She started by kissing her forehead, then her nose, then her cheeks. She could feel the girl under her starting to stir but she kept going. She kissed Emily’s jaw and made her way to the girl’s lips. She felt Sonny’s lips respond to hers and soon the freckled girl’s arms were around Lindsey. The defender’s hands started working their way south and soon her hands were on Lindsey’s ass and she squeezed lightly. Lindsey let out a sound that was somewhere between a gasp and a moan and bit down on the girl’s bottom lip. Emily pulled away to look at her girlfriend and said, “What a way to wake up Linds. I wish I could wake up like that everyday.”

“Well maybe we can make that happen more often,” Lindsey replied with a slight blush. Their lips met again but this time the kisses were more sweet and lazy than hot and passionate. They laid in bed cuddling and making out for awhile longer before getting up and getting dressed to go to Sonnett’s new apartment later.


	12. Chapter 11

“Wow!” Emily exclaimed. She and Lindsey had just walked into her new loft apartment. It was gorgeous. It had high ceilings and hardwood floors. The kitchen had gray marble countertops and stainless steel appliances with a deep, onyx sink. The open floor plan made the place look huge. There were huge, ceiling to floor windows that let loads of natural light inside the apartment. It wasn’t furnished yet so the girls planned to go shopping later that day and the next for furniture.

“This is gorgeous Em,” Lindsey said. As much as Lindsey hated the fact that Emily would be all the way across the country from her, she had to admit that this apartment was nice and she couldn’t wait to visit. The two girls ventured further into the apartment. The living room area was huge. There was a black staircase that went up the far side of the living room to the loft area. On the other side of the room, there was a door that led to the bedroom. Inside the bedroom, there was a huge walk in closet that opened into the master bath.

Inside the bathroom, there was a counter with two sinks and a massive mirror. To the right of the counter was a small room with the toilet and to the left was an open concept shower with natural stone tiles and a rainfall shower head. “This place is amazing!” Emily whispered. Lindsey was silently nodding her head in agreement.

They exited the bedroom and went up the stairs to check out the loft area. There was another small bedroom, a study area, and the laundry room. There was also an exit to the roof and garden area. Emily couldn’t believe how amazing this apartment was. Even though she didn’t want to leave Lindsey and Portland she had to admit she was kinda excited to see her new place.

Emily checked her phone when she heard the beep of a text message. “Looks like the movers will be here in about an hour.” Lindsey nodded that she heard her and then pulled Emily into her in a tight hug. They stood like that together for a while just enjoying the closeness. After a few more minutes, Emily pulled back and looked at Lindsey.

“Will you help me figure out where all my furniture should go?”

“Of course Em.”

The two girls worked together to decide where the furniture should go and by the time the movers arrived they were able to direct them to the right places. Emily stayed at the apartment while Lindsey went back to the hotel to check them out and grab their stuff. They had decided to spend the next couple of days at the apartment since they would have to live out of a hotel during camp and the She Believes cup. Lindsey could feel a sadness settling over her at the thought of being apart from Emily. She knew that she needed to be strong though because she knew Emily was probably struggling just as bad if not worse. She also knew that she shouldn’t keep things bottled up. She decided to reach out to Ali since she was clued in and had personal experience with long distance relationships.

“Hello”

“Hey Ali… It’s Lindsey. Are you busy?”

“Hey Linds! I’m not busy right now. What’s up? Are you okay?”

“Yeah I’m okay. I’m just starting to really struggle with the thought of leaving Em and I know that I don’t need to keep my feelings bottled up but I also don’t want to bring it up to her and cause her to be sad too. I don’t really know what to do…”

“Aww Lindsey. I totally get that. I’m going to be honest, it sucks. It is totally worth it to be with the person you love but the distance sucks sometimes. The most important thing is communication. Even if it’s hard. Make sure that you are open and honest with each other.”

“Yeah. I guess you are right. I just want so bad to make everything better.”

“You already make everything better just by being with her Linds. That girl is so in love with you and would do anything just to be with you.”

“I know Kriegs. I’m so in love with her too. I wish I hadn’t been so stupid and waited so long to be in a relationship with her. We wasted so many years of being together and now we are separated.”

“It wasn’t wasted time though. You guys built your friendship up so much. It will only help in the long run.”

“That’s true. Sonny has to go to the Pride facilities tomorrow to sign paperwork and stuff. Are you going to be there?”

“No, but I think Ash was going to go by there to pick something up. Do you want to get lunch with me tomorrow while they are at the facilities?”

“That sounds great Ali! I will text you tomorrow closer to lunch time so we can figure out where to go.”

After she got off the phone with Ali, Lindsey went inside the hotel and packed their stuff up and headed to the front desk to check out. After checking out she headed back to Emily’s apartment. She decided that she would try to talk to Emily tonight about how they were both feeling at the moment. She was almost back to the apartment when she saw a little coffee shop on the corner. She decided to stop and check it out. The atmosphere inside reminded her a little bit of Portland. She stood in line and looked at the menu trying to decide what to get. Once reaching the counter she put in Emily and her’s coffee order and decided to get a dozen warm blueberry muffins. She got back in the car and headed to the apartment.

Entering the apartment with coffee in hand, Lindsey saw Emily’s eyes light up at the sight.

“Linds! You got coffee?! You’re the best girlfriend ever!”

The blonde defender rewarded her with a kiss on the cheek as she grabbed the coffee that was labeled with her name.

“Anything for you Son,” answered Lindsey with a soft smile.

Lindsey looked around to find that Emily had started unpacking some of her stuff. There was their favorite blanket thrown over the back of the couch and she had hooked her tv up and had Spotify playing in the background. They sat down on the couch together as the defender opened the box to find the two warm blueberry muffins.

“Oh man! You got muffins too!” Emily exclaimed as she planted a sweet kiss on Lindsey’s lips.

Lindsey blushed slightly before questioning, “So are the movers done?”

“Yeah, they brought in the last of it about 30 minutes before you got here. I went ahead and unpacked some of the living room stuff so we could relax in here later.”

“That sounds great. Oh, I also talked to Ali for a few minutes earlier and she said Ashlyn would probably be at Exploria tomorrow when you are there.”

“Yeah… I think Ash planned that because she is still worried about me.”

Lindsey looked at the defender with some concern, “How are you doing Em?”

The blonde sat there for a few minutes contemplating before answering, “Well I am still really bummed and hurt. I’m bummed mainly because I won’t be on the same team as you anymore and the thought of not seeing you everyday sucks. I’m hurt because I never thought that they would get rid of me. I really thought that the Thorns were special and would be my team forever. At the end of the day though, I have you and that’s all that matters. With you by my side I can face anything that life throws at me but I-“

Emily was interrupted by Lindsey’s lips meeting her’s in a passionate kiss. Emily didn’t take long to respond enthusiastically as she held her girlfriend’s cheek and pulled her closer. After a few minutes the two girls broke apart.

“I will always be by your side Em. Even when I’m not here physically. I will always be on your side.”

“I’m so lucky to have you Linds.”

Emily heard the opening chords of a song coming through the speakers on the tv and sat their food and coffee on the table before turning to Lindsey and holding out her hand.

”Dance with me?”

Lindsey nodded as she let herself be pulled to her feet and wrapped her arms around the slightly shorter girl. She rested her head on Emily’s shoulder and allowed herself to sway to the sounds of Maybe We Will by Noah Schnacky. They enjoyed being able to be this close to each other and hoped that it would never end.

The two girls decided to order in a pizza from a place Ali and Ashlyn had recommended. As they pulled up Grey’s Anatomy on Netflix to watch while they were eating dinner Sonnett joked to Lindsey,

“Seriously though, I never thought the Thorns would trade me. Next thing you know they will trade Tobin or something.”

“Don’t even joke about that Son! I can’t be without both of you!”

The next morning Emily woke up with Lindsey wrapped around her like a koala bear. She smiled as she kissed the top of her head and basked in the joy she was feeling of waking up with the love of her life. She knew that Lindsey was the one for her. There was no one that could come close to making her feel the way the midfielder did. Emily felt the blonde starting to stir and watched her face as she slowly woke up. The way her nose slightly scrunched as she started to wake and her eyelids fluttering and finally opening to reveal Emily’s favorite green eyes.

“Good morning gorgeous,” Emily whispered. Lindsey wrapped her arms even tighter around the defender and mumbled “Good Morning” into her neck. They stayed like that for a few minutes before Emily spoke up, “I have to get up and grab a shower before heading to the field babe.” Lindsey groaned but let go of her girlfriend and said she would go start some coffee.

While Emily was in the shower, the midfielder put two of their muffins in the microwave to warm up and started a pot of coffee. As she was putting the muffins on plates she felt arms wrap around her from behind. She turned around to find her freshly showered girlfriend looking at her with what could only be love in her eyes. She leaned in to plant a kiss on her lips that quickly turned into something more passionate than a quick kiss. Eventually, the girls made their way to the couch and sat down to eat breakfast.

“Are you and Ali still having lunch today?” Emily questioned.

“Yeah,” Lindsey answered, “She said she would come by and pick me up since you will have your car.”

“Oh okay cool. I don’t know how long I will be at the stadium. We need to get our stuff together for camp tomorrow as well.”

“Ugh…” Lindsey groaned, “I know. I really don’t want to leave our little bubble here though.”

“I know Linds. We can do this though. Everything will work out. Do you think we will make it through camp without anyone finding out about us?”

Lindsey laughed before answering, “I don’t know Son but I do know it’s going to be hard as hell to keep my eyes off of your damn abs in the locker room.”

Emily grinned slyly before pulling her shirt up to reveal said abs. “You mean these?”

Lindsey just gaped at her girlfriend for a minute before groaning out, “Yesss. Like damn Em, the things your abs do to me.”

“Oh yeah? What do they do to you Linds?”

“We don’t have time for this Son. You have to get to the stadium”

The defender groaned because she knew that her girlfriend was right but now she really didn’t want to go. “How about this?” Lindsey asked before continuing, “Go take care of business and tonight I will tell you. If you are good maybe I will even show you.”

Lindsey swore she had never seen Emily move as fast as she did then. She grabbed her bag, gave Lindsey a quick kiss and was out the door before Lindsey could say much of anything. The midfielder could only laugh and shake her head at her girlfriend before heading to their bedroom to get dressed for the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this chapter is a little short. I struggled with this chapter some but I’m just trying to move the story forward. Let me know what you guys think. Thanks for reading!


	13. Chapter 12

When Lindsey returned to the apartment after lunch she decided to go ahead and start washing their clothes they would need for camp and start packing. Her lunch with Ali had been great. Ali was understanding and listened to Lindsey’s concerns. She understood better than most people would what Lindsey was feeling with starting a new relationship that was long distance. Lindsey was thankful for her friend.

She thought back over the past few weeks and everything that has transpired. Realizing her feelings for her best friend, breaking up with Richard, getting hurt, helping her best friend/crush move all the way across the country and away from her, her and Emily becoming girlfriends had been a complete and total whirlwind. The end result of that whirlwind though was the best thing that has ever happened to her. She never thought she would be lucky enough to have someone like Emily love her.

She was so lost in thought that she didn’t hear the object of her thoughts walk in the apartment. She jumped slightly when she felt the arms wrap around her waist but realized when she heard her girlfriend’s southern drawl, “Hey pretty girl.” Lindsey turned around in the defender’s arms and put her arms around her neck and leaned in to give her love a sweet kiss.

“Hey babe… I missed you today.”

“I missed you too. How was lunch with Ali?”

“It was good. We had some good conversations about stuff. How was your day?”

“It was pretty good. The stadium is nice and and so was everyone I met. Ashlyn was there as my “personal tour guide” so that was nice. I missed you though,” the defender replied with a small pout.

Lindsey laughed and leaned in to kiss away the pout and the kiss turned a little hotter. Lindsey felt Emily’s hands start to wander down to her ass. Emily ran her tongue across Lindsey’s bottom lip as if to ask for permission to enter her mouth which Lindsey gladly granted. As the kiss became more intense, Emily grabbed Lindsey by the waist and lifted her to sit on top of the washing machine.

The blonde midfielder was turned on after the display of strength from her girlfriend. Lindsey reached back and grabbed her shirt and lifted it over her head. She heard Emily gasp as she took in the beauty of her topless. The freckled face girl leaned in to plant warm kisses down the column of Lindsey’s neck making sure to pay attention to that one spot that she had found that drove Lindsey wild. Her fingers danced around the edge of Lindsey’s bra and groped the mounds of flesh hidden by the bra.

“Baby, please take your shirt off,” Lindsey mumbled.

Emily happily obliged and threw her shirt to the side and watched as Lindsey drank in the sight of her abs on display.

“Damn baby,” said the younger girl breathlessly.

Emily just grinned before catching her girlfriend’s lips with her’s again and continued to let her hands roam over her girlfriend’s body. Her thumbs kept sneaking under Lindsey’s bra until she made contact with the underside of the midfielder’s breast. That elicited a gasp and moan from the taller girl as she made eye contact with Emily and begged, “More Em… Please touch me more.”

Emily was more than happy to oblige and slowly let her hands travel under Lindsey’s bra until she was able to cover the whole breast with her hand. She tugged slightly upwards on the piece of fabric and quirked a questioning eyebrow at the blonde in front of her. Lindsey nodded and her girlfriend wasted little time in pulling the bra off. Emily’s jaw went slack at the sight of Lindsey’s bare chest in front of her before diving back in with a heated kiss. Just as Emily was about to take one of Lindsey’s nipples in her mouth the doorbell rang.

“Fuck!”

“Noooo….” Lindsey groaned.

“Maybe if we ignore it whoever it is will go away,” Emily suggested.

About that time they heard Ashlyn’s voice ring through the door, “Open up bitches! We brought food!”

Emily hurried to put her shirt back on and gave Lindsey a quick peck on the lips and whispered,” To be continued.”

“I’m gonna go freshen up real quick,” whispered Lindsey with a wink.

Emily groaned again before roughly opening the door to reveal Ali and Ashlyn standing there with two boxes of pizza.

The older girls took one look at Emily and started laughing. “Did we interrupt something?” Ali snickered.

“Get it bitch!” Ashlyn teased as her wife slapped her on the arm.

“Oh shut up,” Emily grumbled.

“This apartment is beautiful Em!” Ali exclaimed.

“That’s what I told her,” said Lindsey as she walked into the open area between the kitchen and the living room.

“Not as beautiful as you though,” replied Sonnett with a wink.

Lindsey blushed as Ali awwed at their cuteness and Ashlyn mimed throwing up behind her wife.

“Sonny, you gotta stop with this cute stuff. You’re going to make the rest of us look bad.”

The defender in question just laughed and quipped back,” Well stop slacking then!”

The friends gathered around the table and ate and talked about the upcoming camp and consecutive games. Their first game was going to be against England so it was sure to be a good game. After that they would travel to New Jersey to play against Spain. Then they would finish in Texas against Japan. Everyone was excited about the games to come but knew that with the roster getting cut down to Olympic size the spaces would be hard to come by.

“So what is you guy’s plan for your relationship during camp?”

The two younger girls glanced at each other before answering, “Well, we aren’t going to announce anything. We aren’t going to lie either. We will just act naturally and focus on work. We know that we have to focus to be ready for the Olympics so we aren’t going to cause an uproar right before,” replied Emily. Lindsey nodded her head along with her words.

“Honestly, as long as you don’t make out in front of the team I don’t think that the team will think any different. They are already used to seeing the heart eyes,” laughed Ashlyn.

Ali joined in on the laughter before swatting at her partner’s shoulder “Stop Ash! They are so cute.” The two younger girls blushed a little and looked at each other and smiled. The girls continued to talk about this and that and the married couple received a tour of the apartment before wishing the other couple a goodnight and telling them they would see them tomorrow.

Once Emily and Lindsey had their bags packed and waiting near the door, they curled up together in bed and enjoyed the feeling of each other. They knew that once they got to camp they wouldn’t have these moments so they were sure to drink them in now.

“Thank you Linds. I couldn’t have made it through the past few weeks without you. You are the best thing that has happened to me. I love you.”

“Em, you don’t have to thank me. I would do anything for you. You have always been there for me so now it’s my turn. I love you too.”

The shorter girl leaned in to kiss her girlfriend and it quickly turned hot. Lindsey pulled away to look at Emily and asked with sly smile,” What was that you said earlier about to be continued?” Sonny grinned and leaned back in to kiss Lindsey’s lips. “I think we were right about here…” she said as she pulled the midfielder’s shirt off.

A few minutes later they were both topless and Emily had Lindsey pinned to the bed and was lavishing her right breast with attention. She took the nipple in her mouth and sucked on it before biting down gently while rolling the left nipple between her fingers on the other hand.

“Fuck Em,” Lindsey’s moans filled the air as Emily continued to pay attention to her chest.

The couple eventually broke apart breathing heavily. “As much as I would love to keep this going, we have to be up early tomorrow to report to camp. I don’t want our first time to be rushed. I want to take my time with you and make you feel special,” said Emily.

“Aww baby,” replied Lindsey adoringly, “as long as it is with you, it will be special. You’re right though. We have to be up super early in the morning.”

Emily leaned in to kiss her girlfriend and said, “Hopefully soon babe. I love you” as she pulled Lindsey into her chest and cuddled in together.

“Goodnight Sonny,” said Lindsey with a kiss to the underside of the defenders jaw.

The next morning the girls reported to the hotel where they were staying for camp and saw Ali and Ashlyn in the lobby as well.

“Hey guys!” Ali waved at them as they approached them.

“Hey Ali” chorused the two younger girls as they sat down on the couch in the lobby holding hands. As they were talking Tobin and Christen walked up and joined in the conversation. As they were talking Lindsey noticed Tobin’s eyes on her and Emily’s joined hands. Lindsey smiled up at her friend and gave a slight nod of her head. Tobin flashed her big, blinding trademark smile in response. Before anything else could be said more players started filing into the room.

By now, everyone was standing around talking to each other and waiting for their room assignments. Emily had found herself pulled into a conversation with Rose, Kelley, and Mal and she could see Lindsey talking with Sam and Andi across the room. One of the coaches walked up with papers in his hands and a stack of hotel keys and began reading out room assignments.

“Ashlyn and Megan” The blonde grabbed the room keys abs high fived her pink haired friend as they made their way to the elevators.

“Christen and Julie”

“Ali and Tobin” The coach kept calling out room assignments. Finally Emily heard her name.

“Emily and Kelly” The older girl just grinned and ran to grab her friend and drag her to the elevators. Emily turned to look at Lindsey over her shoulder and Lindsey just smiled and threw her a wink. The blonde allowed herself to be dragged on the elevator by her older counterpart. Once on the elevator, Emily could feel Kelley’s eyes on her.

“What is it Kel?”

“Oh nothing… just wondering how it’s going with you and Lindsey considering y’all decided to make the cross country trip together. How did that happen?”

“She offered to help and I said yes.”

“That’s all there is to it?”

Emily could feel her cheeks turning red. She also knew she couldn’t lie to Kelly. She was one of her best friends and even if she wanted to lie to Kelley, the older girl would see through it in a heartbeat. “Well not exactly…”

Kelley motioned for the blonde to continue but Emily just shook her head. “Wait until we are on our room.”

Meanwhile, Lindsey had found her roommate Sam and they were waiting to be given their room key. She felt her phone vibrate with a message from Emily.

_Hey babe… Kelley knows something is up. She asked what was going on so do you mind if I tell her? Love you_ _❤️_

Lindsey smiled as she read the message and shook her head. Of course her girlfriend couldn’t keep anything from her “frat daddy”. Lindsey totally understood that though.

_Of course baby. Let me know how it goes. Love you too_ _❤️_

Sam walked towards Lindsey with key cards in hand. “You ready to go?”

“Yeah. Let’s go get settled.”

After Emily and Kelley had gotten to their room Kelley looked at Sonny expectantly. The blonde sighed and replied, “Start unpacking Ms. Kelley and give me a minute” before picking her phone up and typing something. A few minutes later she asked Kelley to sit down. “So… Lindsey and I are together.”

“Really??!!”

“Yeah. We talked on our trip and we went on a date in New Orleans and now we’re girlfriends.”

“Awww Sonny!!! I’m so happy for you!” Kelley says excitedly as she hugged her friend tightly.

“Thanks Kel… I’m so happy but I really wish we could have figured it out sooner so we would have had more time together in Portland but I’m just happy to have her as my girlfriend. I love her so much.”

“I know you do Son. I’m sure she also knows that. So are you guys keeping it a secret or what?”

“Well we aren’t planning making a big announcement and we are going to keep the PDA to a minimum since we are technically at work but we also aren’t hiding.”

“Oh ok… that kind of makes sense. Does anyone else know?”

“Ali and Ash know. They figured it out at dinner our first night in Orlando. I wouldn’t be surprised if Tobin and Christen find out soon. I don’t think Lindsey will keep something like this from Tobin.”

“I’m a little sad that Ali and Ashlyn found out before me but that’s cool. How did they figure it out?”

“Well…. They may or may not have walked in on us kissing.”

Kelley burst out in laughter as Sonny’s face turned pink. “Well I’m super happy for y’all. If you need anything just let me know.”

“Thanks Kelley.”

“Anytime Son.”

Lindsey and Sam were unpacking when there was a knock at the door. Sam opened the door to find Tobin standing there.

“Hey Sam… Do you mind if I talk to Lindsey really quick?”

The tall blonde looked between the two girls before answering, “Sure… I’m going to go call Pat. Be back soon,” and quickly left looking nervous.

“Hey Tobs… What’s up?”

“Not much. Anything you want to tell me Linds?”

“Ummm… maybe.”

Tobin sat down and looked at her friends with an arched brow and just waited.

Lindsey took a deep breath before starting,”So Emily and I are dating now and I love her. She is so sweet and caring and kind. She treats me so much better than any guy I have ever dated did.”

Tobin just kinda laughed before jokingly asking,” Emily huh?”

“Oh shut up!”

“Oh c’mon Linds… you never call her Emily.”

Lindsey blushed slightly before laughing and saying,” Well I do now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some team bonding coming up next chapter


End file.
